Destiny of Chaos
by Shadougelover14
Summary: When a young lynx is found, Finitevus and the Destructix get more than they bargained for when it turns the D.E.L. is after her. But they can't figure out why, and neither can she. When they come under attack from the Legion, things get hectic. To add to the chaos, she can't even remember her past. Just who is she, and why is the Legion intent on getting her?
1. Mysterious Beginnings

She panted as she leaned against the tree.

'_They don't give up…'_ she thought, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Upon hearing the sound of feet pounding on the forest ground, she took off again. Sounds of her pursuers reached her large furry ears.

"Stop!" a voice commanded.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted back.

She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the cloaked figures, and quickened her pace. As she reached a clearing, she saw what looked a giant ring, and saw the tip of a red tail disappearing into it. She didn't know where it would go, but she figured it would take her away from here.

She raced towards it, and leapt into it.

"No, stop her!"

The warp ring closed behind her, leaving the cloaked figures in furious silence.

::::::::::::::

Fiona sighed as she stepped out of the warp ring.

"Why does Finitevus have to send me to investigate this junk in the middle of the night?" she grumbled.

According to the albino echidna, he'd noticed a strange energy reading in the forests, and since she was the only one who hadn't walked away when he called her, Fiona had been sent to check it out. She turned toward the ring to close it, but before she could, someone fell out of it and hit the ground with a grunt.

Fiona stared at the lynx in stunned confusion for a minute.

"Umm…kid? Can you hear me?" she asked, walking over to the lynx.

She let out a moan as Fiona knelt next to her. The young lynx had sleek brown fur with black markings, and her feet and hands were all black, and she had long black hair that was put in a long ponytail, while two tufts on the back of her head were beaded. She wore a blue mini skirt and a pink sleeveless top and no shoes. There was a gold band around her upper arm.

"Hey, kid, wake up." Fiona said, shaking her shoulder. The girl didn't wake up.

Fiona sighed. "Really? My evening's not busy enough?"

She closed the warp ring, and picked the lynx up.

"Finitevus is gonna _love_ this…"

::::::::::::::::

Finitevus was in his lab finishing a report when he heard someone come in behind him.

"Hey, Doc?" Fiona said.

"Yes Fiona, did you find what was causing the energy reading?" he asked, not turning around.

"No, but I found _something_."

Finitevus turned to face her, and was a little stunned to see her holding a lynx in her arms.

"Who is that?" he asked.

"I dunno."

"Why is she here? You know you're not supposed to bring people here."

"She followed me through the warp ring, okay?"

Finitevus walked over to Fiona and studied the lynx.

"Hmm, well, she is in need of medical attention. Put her on the table over there." He ordered.

Fiona nodded and laid the lynx on the examination table.

"Alright, I've had as much excitement as I need for one evening. Good night." Fiona sighed, walking out of the room.

Finitevus examined the lynx, and deduced she was fine, just a little thrown off from the trip through the warp ring.

'_She should be fine after some rest. I'll check on her in the morning…'_

He found a blanket and put it on her, then shut off the lights and left the room.

:::::::::::::::::

Alright, my plan is each chapter will have her bond with certain members of the Destructix. That'll start in the next chapter. Hope you'll enjoy!


	2. Flying Off the Walls

The lynx girl slowly opened her red eyes, and glanced around. She was in a lab of some kind, which she could tell because of all the beakers and books around. Her eyes landed on a figure in a black cloak, who had his back to her as he worked on something. As he started to turn around, she shut her eyes again, pretending to sleep.

Things remained silent for a few moments longer, and she cracked her eyes open a bit to see what was going on. She was met with gold eyes backed by black sclera.

She yelped a little as she sat up, and the white echidna straightened from his bent position.

"Seems you're awake." He remarked.

"Who-who are you?" she stammered.

He smirked. "My name is Dr. Finitevus."

"Where am I?"

"I can't disclose that information right now. What I'd like to know is who are _you_ and where are you from?"

The lynx carefully got up and stood. She came up about to Finitevus' shoulder.

"Well my name's-"

Suddenly she stomped down on his foot, and took off towards the door while Finitevus shouted in pain. She scrambled up a flight of stairs and came into what looked like a living room. As she made a break towards the door, a frog dropped in front of her.

"Girly-wirly is leaving?" he asked.

The lynx let out a high pitched scream, and ran back toward the stairs. At that moment, Finitevus had made it to the top, and was nearly plowed over as the lynx ran into him, and she scrambled behind him as Flying came closer. Finitevus glanced at the two of them, and smirked, pushing the lynx in front of him.

"What's wrong? Do you not like Flying?" he asked, pushing her towards the frog, who had a psychotic grin on his face.

The lynx whimpered as she tried to move back.

"Now Doc, that's a little harsh." A female voice remarked.

Fiona and Scourge filed into the room from a hall on the other side.

"She's the one who decided to step on my foot and make a break for the door."

Finitevus pushed the girl to the center of the room, opened a warp ring and grabbed a chair from across the room, and brought it back and forced her to sit in it.

"Alright, now, if you're finished trying to liberate yourself, perhaps you can answer my questions from earlier." He said, more of an order than a statement.

At that moment, three more animals came into the room after hearing the shouting. One was a lynx like the girl, another was a blue hawk, and the last was a large gorilla. Everyone was gazing at the female lynx curiously.

She swallowed a little, and looked down at her hands in her lap.

"…M…My name is Melina…" she finally murmured.

"Alright, so where're you from?" Scourge asked.

"I…I don't know…"

"Whatta ya mean you don't know?"

"I…can't remember anything about my past, except for a couple of years ago. Everything before that is blank."

"Hmm, interesting…and how did you end up following Fiona through the warp ring?" Finitevus asked.

"I was being chased by a bunch of hooded people. I saw that warp ring, and figured it would get me out of there, so I jumped in. I don't know what happened after that."

"I had to carry ya in here." Fiona grumbled.

"Oh, well thank you very much for your help." Melina smiled sweetly at her, and Fiona sputtered to a stop.

"Hmm…" Finitevus headed for the other side of the room, motioning for Scourge and Fiona to follow him.

"Hooded figures, the Dark Egg Legion?" Fiona asked in a hushed whisper.

"Why would they be after some random kid?" Scourge asked as he leaned against the wall.

"Hm, Lien-Da must be up to something…but what it is I can't figure out at the moment," Finitevus stated, "Perhaps finding out more about the child will yield some answers."

"But she can't remember anything about herself except her name, how are we gonna find out anything about her?"

"We'll figure that out as we go. In the meantime though…perhaps it's best if she stays with us."

"Are ya sure about that Doc? I mean, if the D.E.L.'s after her…" Fiona asked nervously.

"They don't even know we're here, so we'll be fine for the time being."

Fiona sighed, and they headed back over to the group.

"Okay kid, here's the deal. Until we figure out who you are, you're staying with us. Got it?" Fiona asked

Melina looked as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.

"You'll…you'll let me stay with you?" she asked in shock.

"Yeah, but don't expect us to nanny you, alright?"

Melina smiled happily at her. "Thanks!"

"Eh, don't thank me, it was his idea…" Fiona stated, pointing at Finitevus.

What happened next shocked everyone. Melina jumped up and clung to Finitevus in a hug.

"Thanks! You have no idea how much this means to me, I promise I won't get in the way!"

Finitevus blinked a few time as he stared down at her.

"Alright, alright, enough hugging!" he growled, pushing her away from him.

"We don't have any more rooms though, where's she gonna sleep?" Fiona asked.

"She can share a room with you."

"WHAT?"

Finitevus smirked as he returned to his lab, ignoring Fiona's shouts of protests.

:::::::::::::::

"This is just peachy! I have to share my room with some little brat!"

Fiona was grumbling under her breath, but Melina could still hear thanks to her superb hearing. She folded her ears a little as she followed the fuming fox down the hall. They stopped in front of a door, and Fiona swung the door open.

"Well this is it, if you don't like it, tough." Fiona muttered as she leaned against the door frame.

Melina slowly walked in, looked around a little, before turning to Fiona.

"I think it's really nice. I appreciate you sharing the room with me. I promise I won't get in the way or anything."

"What's with you and the whole polite thing? I've never met anyone like you!" Fiona snapped.

"Well…I just think if someone does something nice for you, you should be grateful. That's what I was taught."

"I thought you said you couldn't remember anything."

"Up to a couple of years ago; I was raised in a village, and the village elder taught me to always treat people nicely."

"So why aren't you in the village now, then?"

Melina's face fell, and her ears drooped.

"The people after me…they came to the village a few weeks ago…and when they refused to give me up, they…dropped a bunch of bombs on the village from a big air ship…I ran away, and the last thing I saw of it was the village elder's house in ruins…"

Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes, and Fiona studied her for a minute.

"Yeah, well…life's tough, kid." She finally said with a sigh.

Melina snapped her head up to her with wide eyes. Shock and hurt ran through them, before the young lynx burst into tears. Fiona yelped a little, before trying to get her to stop. She didn't know if Finitevus would care, but Fiona wasn't about to chance it.

"Stop crying! Please! Come on, stop crying! What I meant was- aw come on!"

As she was fretting, another figure came into the room.

"Lynxy-winxy is sad?" Flying asked.

Upon seeing him, Melina yelped and ducked behind Fiona.

"Oh come on, Flying's not gonna hurt you; granted he's insane, but relatively harmless, as long as you stay on his good side." Fiona sighed.

Melina slowly peeked out from behind her, before cautiously taking a step towards him. Flying watched her curiously, before grinning.

"I show lynxy-pinxie where fun stuff is!"

He grabbed her arm, and raced out of the room.

"Wait, where are we going?" Melina yelled as she was pulled down the hall.

Fiona sighed, and followed them out of the room.

:::::::::::::;:::::

"FLYING!" Fiona shouted furiously.

The 'fun stuff' Flying had been talking about was actually Scourge's secret stash of candy, but it wasn't so secret that Flying couldn't find it. Now, both he and Melina were bouncing off the walls with sugar highs, laughing and bugging the heck out of the Destructix.

"How'd they even find my candy?" Scourge yelled.

"Does it matter? Just grab one of 'em and hold 'em down or something!" Fiona retorted.

She and the other team members lunged at the twosome, but missed. Lightning tried to grab Melina, but she laughed as she spun out of the way. Fiona and Scourge lunged at Flying, but he jumped out of the way, and they slammed into each other. Predator tried to grab both of them, but they stepped out of the way, and he slammed into the wall. Simian ended up doing the same.

"HOLD STILL YOU LITTLE BRATS!" Fiona shouted.

She was met with a face full of potato salad. Things were silent for a moment.

"Oh…" Scourge mumbled.

"Snap…" Lightning squeaked.

Fiona growled, before lunging at Melina and Flying. The duo scrambled away, and she followed them while shouting furiously.

"JUST WAIT TILL I GET YOU! I'M GONNA TIE YOU TOGETHER, STUFF YOU INTO A SACK, FIND THE NEAREST OCEAN AND THROW YOU OFF A CLIFF! I DON'T CARE WHAT FINITEVUS SAID, I'M GONNA KILL YOU LITTLE FREAKS!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?"

Everyone paused, and turned to see Finitevus standing in the doorway that led to the stairway to his lab. They stared at him for a moment, and his eyes scanned the room, which was in disarray from Melina and Flying's antics. Paint spattered the walls, the couch cushions were flung about the room, chairs were overturned, and of course, Fiona's face was speckled with potato salad.

"Well, is anyone going to answer me? What happened?" he asked irritably.

The Destructix glanced at each other, before pointing at Flying and Melina.

"They started it." They all mumbled.

Finitevus glanced at the two culprits, who were still grinning broadly. Well, Flying was always grinning. The duo was jumping up and down a little, giggling and chattering quietly to each other.

"Sugar rush, where'd they get the sugar?" he asked.

Fiona turned to Scourge, hands on her hips. The green hedgehog glanced from her to Finitevus, then back again.

"Whaaat?" he asked with a shrug.

"Find a new hiding place for your candy." Fiona retorted.

"Ohh…right."

"We found candy! It was really good! Flying's really funny! He's not as creepy as I thought! I like candy! Do you like candy Doctor Finitevus? I think you would! It's sweet, and yummy, and chocolaty, and there was peanut butter too!"

Melina continued talking non-stop, before Fiona finally slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Lynxy-winxie-minxie is fun! She likes playing-laying-slaying some of the games I do! Can we keep her-fur-sure?" Flying babbled excitedly.

Finitevus sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why do I always get the idiots…?"

"So whatta we do now? They still have three hours' worth of sugar induced energy to burn off." Scourge asked.

"Take them to the gym or outside, just somewhere I can't _hear_ them, or you." Finitevus muttered, before heading back downstairs.

"Yay…"

"Well, your candy, your fault, you take care of it." Fiona stated, placing the couch cushions back in the couch and then flopping down on it.

"What?" he exclaimed.

"She has a point." Lightning remarked.

Scourge glared at them, before directing the lynx and frog down the hall towards the training room, grumbling the entire way.

::::::::::::::::::::;;;

"What's this place?" Melina asked.

"It's where we spar, or where I go to get some peace and quiet away from the others." Scourge replied.

Flying was swinging from the rafters, laughing hysterically as he did. Melina was attempting to scale a rock wall, while Scourge watched with mild amusement.

"Babysitting…he had to give me babysitting…"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::


	3. Scourge's Babysitting Nightmare 1

After a couple of minutes of watching and listening to Flying and Melina jump around the gym, Scourge sighed and stood.

"Alright, I've had enough of this! I'm outta here!"

He zipped out of the room, and Melina and Flying stared at the door as it slammed shut. Flying then glanced at Melina.

"Hey lynxy-winxie-pinxie, wanna play a game-maim-same?" he asked with a laugh.

Melina looked up at him curiously, before smiling.

"Sure!"

Flying grinned widely.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Scourge was relaxed on the couch, drinking a soda, when Fiona walked in.

"Scourge, what're you doing here?" she asked.

"Umm…sitting?" he replied.

"Where are Melina and Flying?"

"In the gym where I left 'em."

Fiona stared at him, mouth dropping open.

"What?"

"You left Melina with _FLYING_?"

"Yeah, why?"

Fiona walked over and slapped the back of his head.

"Are you an idiot? Flying is insane and you left her alone with him!"

Scourge paused for a minute, before his eyes slowly widened.

"_Ohhhhhh_…"

"**IDIOT**!"

The duo tore down the hall towards the gym, Scourge mumbling the whole way.

"Be alive, be alive, be alive!"

They skidded to a halt in front of the doors, and Scourge hesitantly grabbed the handle.

"Please, for my sake, please be alive!"

He opened the door, and they walked in.

Nothing.

"…where are they?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know, I left them in here about 8 minutes ago, they couldn't have gone far."

"Oh sweet Chaos…You realize if Finitevus finds out, he's gonna kill you?"

"Don't worry, just relax, he won't find out!" Scourge stammered.

He started towards the doors.

"We'll just go out and find them before Von Creepy finds out-!"

He burst through the doors, and skidded to a halt upon seeing Finitevus.

"Before I find out what?"

"Uhhh, Doc, hey! I was just, uh, telling Fiona here that…um, she shouldn't have stolen your book!"

"What?" Fiona asked.

"All of the books in my lab are present. Now, where is the girl?" Finitevus asked.

"Uhh, right, Melina, she's um…"

"The genius left her alone with Flying and now they're gone." Fiona sighed.

Scourge glared at her, before meekly meeting Finitevus' gaze.

"Scourge, there are many times where I question your IQ," Finitevus sighed, before socking the green hedgehog in the gut, "THIS TOPS ALL OF THEM!"

"Sorry…" Scourge squeaked, before falling to the floor.

"Where would they go?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know, I'm not eight or INSANE!"

Fiona and Scourge glared at him skeptically.

"Okay, I'm not _Flying Frog_ insane."

"Let's look outside, maybe he took her out there to play," Scourge stated, "And yes, I'm aware of what play means to Flying! I just hope it's not laser tag…"

The glares from Fiona and Finitevus shut him up, before he raced down the hall in the direction of the front entrance. Fiona and Finitevus followed close behind.

::::::::::::::;;;

A few seconds later, Scourge burst through the doors outside, looking around wildly. The sun was setting, giving the sky and pink glow.

"MELINA, WHERE ARE YOU? YOU HAVE TO BE ALIVE, DANGIT! FOR MY SAKE, YOU HAVE TO BE ALIVE OKAY!" he shouted as he zipped around area, looking in trees and behind large rocks.

"Melina, if you can hear us, say anything!" Fiona yelled.

"Melina, be alive okay! BE ALIVE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THE GODS, BE ALIVE!"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

The trio whipped around, and saw Melina and Flying in a tree. Flying was hanging from the branch, clinging to it with his legs, while Melina was holding onto his hands and swinging back and forth.

"Melina, you're okay…and, not dead." Fiona stammered.

"Why would I be? What's going on?" Melina asked as she dropped to the ground. Flying landed beside her on his hands, and then dropped to his feet.

"Nothing, just…Flying doesn't usually have a playmate that's been around this long."

"I like lynxie-pinxie! She likes to play-slay-disarray!" Flying chimed happily.

"You're alive! Thank Chaos above you're alive!" Scourge exclaimed, gripping Melina's shoulders tightly.

"I…didn't know you cared?" she mumbled.

"If you're alive, then Doc won't kill me, which means I'm gonna live!"

"Maybe…" Finitevus muttered.

Scourge grinned nervously as the albino echidna approached him.

"You are aware of Flying's insanity, correct?"

"Yeah."

"And you do recall his time in Mercia?"

"Yeah…"

"So what, pray tell, made you think leaving an eight year old child alone with him would be a good idea?"

"I…I didn't think it through very well…"

"Very good, you figured it out all by yourself. Now, you two," Finitevus turned to Flying and Melina, "Back inside, and don't leave the base without telling someone again."

"Okay…" the duo mumbled, slinking back towards the base.

"Sooo…what's for dinner?" Scourge asked as he, Fiona, and Finitevus followed the two back inside.

He was met with two more glares.

::::::::::::::::::::;

Dinner that night was left over pizza. Melina and Flying were on the couch, eating and watching cartoons on the TV, while everyone else was sitting at the large table behind them. Well, almost everyone; Finitevus was down in his lab again, working on who knows what.

"Hey, does Doctor Finitevus ever eat?" Melina asked.

She heard a few snickers behind her, and glanced at the others curiously.

"Honestly, we don't know." Scourge replied.

"We've never actually seen him eat." Fiona added.

Melina cocked her head for a moment in thought, before standing. She scurried into the kitchen, grabbed a plate and a couple slices of pizza, and headed downstairs.

"What's she doing?" Scourge hissed.

Melina stopped at the door to the lab, and knocked. After a couple seconds, there was a response.

"Come in."

Melina opened the door, and peered in. Finitevus was in the back, sitting at his desk, busily writing something on a paper. He glanced up at her with mild interest.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I brought ya pizza." Melina replied, shutting the door and approaching him.

"Why?"

"Because…I dunno, I figured you'd be hungry."

Things were silent for a minute, and Melina set the plate on the desk.

"So, um…whatcha doing?" she asked.

"Nothing you'd be interested in." he replied, attention back on the paper.

Melina walked behind him and peered over his shoulder to look at what he was writing; something about Chaos energy, guardians, something called the Master emerald, and the aforementioned guardians' connection to it and Chaos energy. Finitevus sighed heavily, setting his pen down and looking at her.

"What do you want?"

Melina shrugged, and wandered over to the large bookshelf. She examined the books, before grabbing one and pulling it out.

"_Legends of Angel Island, and other Fabled Places_," she read, before looking back at Finitevus, "Hey, Angel Island's that big island that floats in the sky, right? I've heard about that place before, they told me all kinds of stories about it. I always wanted to go there, oh, and Babylon Garden too! I've heard of that place too, and it sounds cool!"

"Did you eat candy again?"

"No, why?"

"You're talking fast again…"

"I do that when I get excited."

"I see, well, as _exciting_ as this conversation is, I have work to do."

"Right, sorry…can I borrow this?"

"If you wish."

"Yay!"

Clutching the book, she hurried towards the door. Upon opening it though, with yelps, the Destructix fell into the room on the floor. Noticing the strange looks from Melina and Finitevus, they hastily stood and tried to stammer out an explanation.

"Um…we were just…"

"Passing by…"

"And we thought we'd…um…"

"It was Scourge's idea!" Flying exclaimed.

"Oh, thanks for having my back, Flying!" Scourge growled.

"Heee-heee!"

"It _was_ your idea!" Fiona muttered.

"You know one of you guys could take the fall every once and awhile!"

"Like we wanna get fried!"

"What makes you think I do!"

"Because you come up with the ideas that could get us fried!"

"I do not!"

Everyone started shouting and naming times when Scourge's plans had backfired, while Melina was watching curiously. Finally, though, a shout cut them off.

"Get OUUUUUT!" Finitevus shouted furiously.

Melina and the Destructix hastily started to stampede out of the room.

"Go, go, go!"

"Move it!"

"Move aside-hide-snide!"

"Let me out please!"

Finally they fled the room, and Melina shut the door behind them. Finitevus sighed, shaking his head, and went back to work. He glanced at the pizza, and after a second, finally picked up a slice.

::::::::::::::::::::

A few hours later, Finitevus came up stairs, plate in hand, and set it on the counter in the kitchen. He walked into the living room, which was empty, but there was a lamp on beside the couch. He walked over to turn it off, but was surprised to see somebody on the couch. Two somebodies, actually.

Melina was fast asleep, with Flying behind her, their heads resting against the back of the others, with the book Melina had borrowed earlier lying across her lap. Both were snoring, and Flying still had his usual grin, even in sleep.

Finitevus studied them for a minute, before sighing. He picked up the book and set it on the coffee table, found a large blanket, and threw it across the duo. He shut off the light, opened a warp ring, and stepped into his room.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


	4. Lightning Lynx

After yesterday's slight crisis, it was decided the Destructix would take turns watching Melina to make sure that A: she wouldn't get into any trouble, and B: to make sure she wasn't left alone with Flying again, even if she hadn't been harmed the last time.

So, today, Lightning Lynx was left in charge of her, while the others, minus Flying, were out gathering supplies. He hadn't seen anything wrong with it at the time, seeing as they were both lynxes, which would make it easier to relate. He knew not to let her have too much candy, and to not leave her alone with Flying. Simple enough, right?

Wrong.

Despite his best efforts, controlling the duo was harder than he imagined. Flying had managed to talk Melina into playing a game of chase, with Lightning having to do the chasing.

"GET BACK HERE!" he yelled with a growl as he tailed the duo into the gym.

"You gotta catch us!" Melina called back with a laugh.

"Hee-heee! Can't catch-snatch-match us!" Flying cheered.

Lightning growled in his throat, before he lunged at them. He managed to snag Flying's ankle, but the frog jumped into the air, carrying him with him. Melina laughed, while Lightning yelped as they flew through the air. Flying grabbed one of the rafters, and swung to and fro, causing Lighting to sway, and this caused him to yell.

"KNOCK IT OFF!"

"Heee-heee, get into the game-same-maim!" Flying laughed.

With a forceful swing, Flying sent Lightning sailing through the air and into the wall. He crashed to the floor, and Melina and Flying laughed as they fled the room. Lightning scrambled to his feet and took off after them, growling curses under his breath.

They tore through the living room, then down the stairs towards the basement. As they flew down the hall where Finitevus' lab, Melina and Flying ran past the door, and a few seconds later, the albino echidna opened it and stepped into the hall.

"WHAT is going on out here?" he demanded.

"WATCH IT FINITEVUS!"

Finitevus turned around to see Lightning, a split second before they collided. Melina and Flying giggled a little, before continuing to run as the duo sat up, moaning.

"I see the babysitting is going well?" Finitevus grumbled.

"Ha…I'll…I'll have to…get back to ya on that…" Lightning panted, before standing.

"Pardon me; GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRATS!"

The lynx charged down the hall after the duo, and Finitevus sighed as he shook his head.

"Why did I say she could stay here?" he muttered, before returning to his lab.

Lightning screeched to a halt as he ran into the basement, which was rather large. There were boxes stacked everywhere, with various labels on them, and a few shelves full of more boxes. Melina and Flying were nowhere in sight. Lightning sighed, rolling his eyes, and leaned against the doorway. He closed his eyes and trained his ears.

Things were quiet at first, but then he heard it; a soft giggling, which was quickly shushed. With a smirk, Lightning opened his eyes, and started towards a stack of boxes. He placed his ear against them, and heard another giggle, which he grinned at, and then he jumped to the top of the boxes.

"FOUND YA!" he shouted.

Flying and Melina yelped, and jumped to their feet to run. Lightning jumped down on them, and landed on top of…someone. After a few seconds of kicking, he discovered it was Flying.

"Cease! Desist!" Flying shouted.

"I'm gonna cease and desist you! You started this!" Lightning retorted.

Suddenly, Melina was on top of both of them, and her hands flew to Lightning's underarms. Lightning froze for a second, before bursting into laughter.

"GET OFF! STOP IT, STOP IT!" he yelled through his laughter.

"Sounds like he's ticklish, huh Flying?" Melina asked with a grin.

Flying returned the grin, before jumping on Lightning and joining in on tickle attack. Lightning's laughter got louder, and was joined by curses as he tried to twist out of their grip. Melina and Flying were laughing themselves as they kept hold of him.

"KNOCK IT OFF! STOP IT, STOP IT, _STOP IT!_"

With a grunt, he finally shoved the duo off of him, and leaned against a stack of boxes to catch his breath. Melina and Flying were laughing to themselves as they sat up, and glanced at Lightning with a grin.

Lightning returned it with bared teeth.

"I'm gonna KILL YOU!"

The duo screamed as they took off towards the exit, with Lightning close behind. They ran past Finitevus' door again, and once again he stepped into the hall as they past.

"WILL YOU KEEP IT DOWN I'M WORKING!" he shouted in frustration.

They scrambled up the stairs, raced into the living room, and ran in a large circle around the room as Melina and Flying tried to keep Lightning away.

"We were just having fun!" Melina exclaimed as she and Flying took cover behind the couch.

"Loosen up!" Flying added.

With a shout, Lightning lunged at them. He tackled Flying to the floor, encouraging a yelp from the frog.

"Run lynxie-pinxie! Go on without me-he-he!"

"Okay!"

Melina took off down the hall towards the bedrooms. Flying stared after her.

"I was being-seeming-dreaming dramatic!" he yelled after her.

Lightning snickered as he twisted Flying's arms behind his back.

:::::

A couple of minutes later, after dealing with Flying, Lightning was stalking down the hall Melina had gone.

"Come out now while I'm still in a good mood!" he yelled.

He heard soft laughing, and some shuffling. He smirked, and headed upstairs where the bedrooms were. He opened the door to Fiona's room, but didn't see anyone. He closed the door, and walked in further. There was another bed to accommodate Melina, while the other two belonged to Fiona and Scourge. He heard some more shuffling under Melina's bed, and with a smirk, started towards it. There was a sigh as he came to a stop beside it, and he knelt down to peer under it.

"Under the bed?" he asked with a hint of amusement when he spotted Melina.

Melina shrugged with another sigh, and Lightning shook his head as he reached towards her, but she shrunk back a little.

"Relax, I'm not mad _you_."

Hesitantly, she took his hand, and he pulled her out from under the bed and to her feet. Lightning glanced down at her feet, and lifted a brow questioningly.

"Any reason you always go barefoot?"

Melina looked at her feet, then back up at him with a smile.

"I dunno…I've never really worn shoes…at least as far as I can remember. I've kinda gotten used to it."

Lightning nodded thoughtfully, and Melina sat on the edge of the bed.

"So…where'd you come from? I mean before you joined this team?"

Lightning suddenly paused, before crossing his arms and glaring at the floor.

"That's really none of your business…" he muttered.

"I know but…I've always had this weird way of knowing how someone's feeling. I can tell you're really upset about something. I'm just curious."

Lightning was silent for a few minutes, before he sighed, and turned to her.

"I used to be a member of the Raiju clan."

"Who?"

"Err…it's a large clan of ninja lynxes. They live…far, far away from here."

"Cool, so, why aren't you with them now?"

Melina noticed Lightning clenching his fists, and his eyes narrowed.

"I…I was banished…"

"Oh…how come?"

"Because the clan's Bride didn't think I was good enough!"

Melina jumped at the sudden shout, staring up at him with wide red eyes. She could hear the venom in his voice too, and tilted her head curiously.

"Why would she think-?"

"It doesn't matter!"

Lightning growled under his breath as he turned away again, glaring at the far wall. Melina studied him for a minute, before placing a hand on his arm.

"I don't know exactly know what happened…but I know how you're feeling."

Lightning glanced at her curiously.

"I know the feeling…you want to blame her for everything…and you want her to pay for it…"

"…How do you know that?"

"Those people…the D.E.L., is that what you called 'em? They…they took everything from me…my home, my sorta family, all my friends…they took everything and I HATE them for it, and I want them to pay!"

Lightning studied her, a little surprised at the edge in her voice. There were tears forming in her eyes as she frowned at the floor, trying not to cry.

"But…I know that spending every day trying to get revenge isn't going to change anything…which I think you should think about too."

Lightning stared at her for a moment, shocked. She was only 8 years old, but sometimes the way she spoke she sounded wise beyond her years. After a minute or too, in which Melina managed to calm down, they both sat on her bed. Lightning looked away for a moment, before murmuring something.

"What?" Melina asked, leaning towards him a little.

"I loved her…"

She drew back a little in surprise. "…Oh."

"I loved her…but she would only accept the strongest. I was the strongest and fastest in my clan, but that wasn't enough. So, one day, I challenged her to a fight to prove my worth, and love…"

"What happened?"

"I lost…badly…and she banished me, which is the ultimate dishonor in our clan…"

Melina folded her ears a little, giving him a sympathetic look as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"And then, one day, she sent a message, and told me I was invited back with my honor restored. The 4 clans had joined the Iron Queen- do you know who that is?"

"Um…I remember the village elder telling me about her, and everyone was kinda on edge until she was gone."

"Right, anyway; she invited me back…it was great. She was finally acknowledging me! I thought…I thought she felt the same way…but then a few things happened and…she banished me…again…"

Melina was quiet for a minute, as was Lightning.

"At least now…I'm not lying to myself anymore…"

Melina's ears drooped, before she suddenly hugged him.

"I'm not exactly an expert on romance…but I do know one thing. There's someone out there for everyone, you just have to find 'em."

Lightning studied her for a few silent moments, before slowly, a small smile formed.

"…Yeah…"

He gave her head a pat.

"You know, you're pretty bright for an 8 year old."

"That's what the village elder used to say…"

"…Don't worry, kid…I know one thing too; everyone gets what's coming to them."

Melina smiled up at him a little.

"Yeah, thanks Mr. Lightning."

"You don't have to call me mister, Lightning works just fine."

"Okay, Lightning."

The two lynxes smiled at each other, before they heard a voice down stairs.

"Why is Flying tied up with his tongue on the floor?" Fiona asked.

Melina glanced at Lightning, who shrugged with a grin. Melina grinned back, and the twosome started laughing.

:::::::::::::::::;:::::::::

Alright, hope I got Lightning's story right.

Alright, so, this chapter had Melina bonding with Lightning, hooray for lynxes! Next chapter…I dunno who she should bond with next. Scourge and Fiona already had theirs, the last chapter and the one before, and Flying of course has already become attached to her. Finitevus I'm planning to put his up later. So that leaves Predator Hawk and Sergeant Simian. Only problem is…I'm not exactly their biggest fan…I like Predator just cuz he looks cool and he's a hawk. Simian, really I just don't like him. Sorry Simian fans, but that's just me.

Oh well, I guess I'll just use the oldest trick in the book: sweet little girl stuck with a stern rather work than play guy. Maybe I can put them together in the next chapter…

Well, wish me luck!


	5. Predator and Simian's Hide and Rescue

After a brief explanation as to why Flying was tied up from Lightning, the Destructix and Melina had dinner. Melina managed to talk them into grilling burgers, and they had all the requirements for a good burger; cheese, pickles, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Scourge grilled the burgers, and everyone fixed them up how they wanted.

"We should do this more often." Lightning remarked as he ate.

"Girly lynxie-pinxie has good ideas!" Flying added.

Melina once again brought Finitevus a plate to his lab, but she didn't know what he liked on it, so she put various things on the plate beside the burger. She knocked, but didn't receive an answer, so she just left it on the floor in front of the door, and returned up stairs.

::::::::::::::::

The next day, Sergeant and Predator were left in charge of Melina, while the others were out getting supplies again. The duo suspected they were just getting away from the lair for some peace and quiet. They took Flying with them though, so at least there was a bright side.

Now, the trio was in the living room, Melina sitting on the couch, and Predator and Simian standing in front of her. Things were silent, and Melina simply stared at the duo curiously.

"So…what do ya wanna do?" she finally asked.

"Nothing." They both replied in unison.

"…Wanna play a game?"

"No."

"Can't we do something? This is boring!"

"We're only supposed to keep an eye on you and make sure you stay out of trouble. No one said anything about 'playing'." Predator stated.

Melina frown at him, before looking away in thought.

"Hey, Mr. Hawk, you like challenges, right?"

"…How do you know-?"

"Flying told me about you guys."

"Stupid frog…"

"Anyway, how about this; I'll go hide, and you have to find me. If you can't find me in ten minutes, I win! C'mon it'll be fun!"

Predator and Simian glanced at each other for a moment, then looked back at her.

"Alright, fine."

"Yay, close your eyes!"

The duo sighed, but did as they were told. They heard Melina's feet hit the floor and race off, and counted to ten before opening their eyes.

"Alright, let's go…" Simian muttered.

They started down the hall they heard her run down, and split up to search the rooms.

:::::::::::::::::

"MELINA!" Predator shouted.

He and Simian were outside, prowling the area in search of the lynx. It had been half an hour and they still hadn't found her.

"If Finitevus or the others find out we're dead!" Simian stated as he searched the brush surrounded the base.

"She's only 8, how far could she have gotten?" Predator growled.

"Apparently very far."

"He's gonna kill us, let's just face it."

"Who's going to kill who?"

They spun around to face Finitevus, who seemed slightly annoyed.

"What're you doing out here?" Predator asked.

"Yeah, you hardly ever leave your lab during the day." Simian added.

"I heard you shouting 'Melina' for the past half hour, and came up to see what was going on. What are you doing?" Finitevus asked.

"We're just…looking for her."

"You lost her?"

"No, not exactly! We're just…playing a game!"

"So you lost her."

"…Yeah."

"Do I need to hand cuff her to one of you in order for you idiots to keep up with a little girl?"

"We didn't know she'd wander off, she said she was gonna hide somewhere and now-!"

Suddenly they heard a scream, before Melina burst from the trees, racing toward the trio.

"There she is." Predator said as Melina ran up to them and latched onto him.

She was crying a little, and whimpered as she looked back at the trees.

"What's wrong?" Predator asked.

She merely pointed, and at that moment, a medium sized robot burst out of the tree line and stalked toward them.

"Where'd that come from?" Simian asked.

"I…I was hiding in the trees, and I saw something shiny, so I went to check it out, and found that thing. I saw a button, and…well I couldn't help myself." Melina stammered.

"Great…"

The robot let out a mechanic roar, and lunged at them. Melina yelped, before she was pulled back by Finitevus. Simian rushed forward, and slammed into the robot, keeping it at bay. Predator then lunged forward, claws first. He actually went through the robot, and came out the other side with a large hunk of metal in hand. The robot stopped, before slowly falling to the ground with a ground shaking thud. Predator sneered at it, and tossed the 'heart' aside.

"Too easy…"

Melina was staring at him and Simian in awe.

"Cool…" she murmured.

"Well, glad you had fun. Now, there was something I wanted to ask you, what was it…?" Simian muttered.

"Oh yeah; WHY THE HELL DID YOU LEAVE THE BASE? DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU?"

Melina jumped back a little in surprise, but Finitevus kept her from moving any further.

"Never do that again, you had us worried!" Predator ordered.

"Y-yes sirs! I'm really sorry…"

"Don't apologize, just make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Okay…you were actually worried about me?"

"Well…yeah, a little…"

"Really? Even you?" Melina asked, glancing at Finitevus.

"I heard shouting, and merely came out here to investigate." He replied.

"Oh…"

Finitevus glanced at her, before sighing a little.

"Alright, now back inside, and as I said before; don't leave without telling anyone."

"Okay."

Before they could though, a warp ring opened, and the rest of the Destructix came out.

"Hey, we're back!" Fiona announced, a stack of pizzas in hand.

"How's every-" Scourge paused upon noticing the destroyed robot.

"What have you guys been doing?" he finally asked.

"Nothing, just…" Melina trailed off.

"Playing a game." Predator finished.

"A game of destroying robots? I wanna play-slay-disarray!" Flying exclaimed.

Everyone shook their heads with a sigh, before heading inside.

:::::::::::::::::::::::;

The next day, at Melina's request, Lightning was left in charge again. Flying and the others once again had left the base, as Lightning demanded they take the frog with them.

"Alright, why'd you ask for me?" he asked as they sat on the couch.

"Well, I had a question…you know how you're like a ninja?" Melina asked.

"Yeah…"

"Well, after yesterday when that robot attacked, I was wondering if you'd show me some stuff. That way I could protect myself instead of making other people risk their lives for me."

Lightning seemed stunned at her request, and was staring at her in surprise.

"While I think it's good that you want to learn something new, you shouldn't do it just because you think it would be convenient for others-"

"I have to learn to fight for myself! I don't want you guys to get hurt because of me…and I don't want to lose anyone again…"

"…I see. Well, if you really want to, but you have to take this seriously."

"I will, I promise!"

"And you have to listen to what I say,"

"No problem, I do that anyway. When do I get to throw those star things?"

Lightning chuckled a little.

"Oh not for a while, that comes later. For now, I think we might have to work on your strength."

"Oh alright…"

With that, the duo stood and headed for the gym.

::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Come on, just 3 more."

"I don't wanna do this anymore…!"

Melina was on the floor, trying to finish doing push-ups. Lightning was standing above her and over seeing her exercise.

"I didn't know being a ninja involved exercise!"

"How else would we get strong?"

"I don't know, I didn't think about that…"

After doing one more, Melina finally fell to the floor in exhaustion.

"Okay, that's twenty, are we done yet?" she panted.

"Almost, now we'll see how good you are at hitting; up!"

With a moan, Melina stood, and faced Lightning.

"Alright, just hit my hand as hard as you can."

He held his hand up towards her, and she drew her fist back, and punched his hand. He smirked a little.

"Not a bad start; all the 'horrible' exercise will strengthen your muscle, which will help you gain a stronger hit. We'll work on it."

"I have to do _more_ push-ups, sit-ups, and jogging?"

"Don't worry, it'll be gradual, that way we don't over work your systems."

Melina moaned a little as she slid down the wall to the floor. At that moment, the doors to the gym opened.

"So this is why it's been so quiet." Finitevus remarked as he strode into the room.

"Little miss danger prone wants to be a ninja." Lightning stated with a snicker.

Finitevus nodded a little as he glanced at Melina, who smiled up cheerfully.

"So, what're you doing up from your lab? It's still kinda early for you." Lightning asked.

"It was too quiet for a building with an 8 year old living in it; I was suspicious you'd lost her as well."

"Nah, just a little training is all."

"Perhaps you should watch her every day, you're the only one who hasn't lost her within ten minutes."

With that, Finitevus turned and left the gym, presumably returning to his lab. Melina and Lightning glanced at each other, before laughing a little.

:::::::::::::::::::::

Okay, tried to keep Predator and Simian in character as much as possible while dealing with an energetic 8 year old. And had a little more Lightning and Melina bonding! I'll only keep Flying out of one more chapter, because I need things to get quiet. After next chapter, he'll come back full force. See ya next chapter! PLEASE leave a review!


	6. A Day With the Doctor

"One day, Doc, just _one day!_" Fiona begged.

She and the rest of the Destructix were in Finitevus' lab. It had been at least a week since Melina had shown up, and they had been taking turns baby-sitting her and/or Flying, depending on if he was around. The job had taken its toll though, as Finitevus could clearly see.

Scourge's quills were frayed at the ends and he looked half asleep, Fiona had rings under her eyes and her clothes were disheveled, Predator's feathers were ruffled and he was leaning against Simian to stay up right, Simian himself was silent, and Finitevus had the sneaking suspicion he was asleep, and Lightning really was asleep, leaning against the wall. The team was now in his lab, trying to talk him into watching Melina that day. They'd been at it for about an hour now, as he wasn't too quick to agree.

"Why would I want to waste my time watching her?"

"Because we're exhausted and we _need a BREAK!" _Scourge exclaimed.

"I don't have the time nor the patience to put up with her. I'm very busy with my research, so-"

Scourge stalked up to the desk, and slammed his hands on the wood.

"I will find Knuckles and bring him here, and I will laugh and record him bludgeoning you! Take the kid for a day at least!"

Finitevus rose from his seat, only a few inches taller than the green hedgehog, but he still looked intimidating.

"Very well, I'll take over,"

"YEAH!"

"On one condition,"

"Aww…whatta ya want?"

Finitevus walked around the desk, coming to a stop beside the hedgehog, and smirked a little.

"You let me do a few tests."

"On the kid?" Scourge asked slowly.

Finitevus' smirk only widened, and Scourge gulped.

"On…Flying? You wanna do some testing, he's your guy!"

The smirk dropped then, and Scourge sighed.

"Why me?"

"I'm still puzzled as to how Sonic was able to resist the hex I put on the Master Emerald during my Enerjak scheme, and since I can't get to him at the moment, you're the next best thing."

"…Should I feel insulted?"

"It's a deal!" Fiona exclaimed, coming up beside Scourge.

"Wha- hey! I didn't agree to anything!"

"Yes you did, now let's go!"

"And one more thing; take that frog with you, wherever it is you go when someone else is watching the girl."

"Alright, we can do that; Lightning, grab Flying and let's go!"

"But I-!" Scourge protested.

"Just go!"

The team hurried out of the room, Scourge shouting the whole way. Fiona came back in though.

"Oh, and don't let her play with anything sharp, or explosive!" she said, before leaving. But she came back in once again.

"A-and make sure she doesn't eat too much sugar! Don't let her leave the base on her own, and if she gets hungry there's some pizza in the fridge-!"

"I get it Fiona."

Fiona gave a nervous grin, before hurrying to catch up with the others. Finitevus sighed, and returned to his seat, grabbing his cup of coffee. He was going to need a lot of it if he was to put up with Melina the whole day…

::::::::::::::::

"So, whatcha doin?" Melina asked.

"The same thing I was doing the last time you asked…" Finitevus muttered.

"Can we do something else, this is kinda boring."

"That depends on what you want to do."

"I dunno, play games or something?"

"I don't 'play'."

"I know, everyone says you don't come out of your lab much…so, you're like a scientist, right?"

"Correct…" Finitevus replied suspiciously.

"Cool, so can we like, blow something up? That'd be really fun!"

"No."

Melina sighed in annoyance, and glanced around the lab. She moved toward the bookshelf, and examined the titles; _The Echidna History, Echidna Legends, Chaos Theories…_

"What's Chaos?" she asked.

Finitevus glanced up from the file he was reading.

"It's a very strong form of energy. There are certain people, such as myself, who can control it very well."

"That sounds cool! Can I see it?"

Finitevus studied her for a moment, before holding his hand up and cloaking it in black Chaos energy. Melina approached him, staring at his hand in awe.

"Cooool…"

"It varies between people."

"Wish I could…do…that…"

She swayed suddenly, before falling forward. Finitevus moved quickly to catch her, and carefully placed her on the floor.

"What's wrong?"

"I…feel kinda…funny…"

About a minute or two later, she slowly sat up, hand on her forehead.

"How are you feeling?" Finitevus asked.

"Still kinda dizzy…"

"Perhaps you should rest…"

"Okay…"

With a little help from the albino echidna, she was able to make it upstairs to the couch. She flopped down on it, and turned on the TV. Finitevus turned to head back downstairs, but Melina's voice made him pause.

"Are you going back to your lab?"

"I was planning to."

"Please stay…I don't wanna be by myself…"

"I'll be downstairs-"

"Please?"

Finitevus glanced back at her, and saw the pleading in her eyes. After a couple minutes, he sighed irritably, and took a seat in the recliner beside the couch. Melina cheered a little, before looking back at the cartoon playing on the television. Using a warp ring, Finitevus snagged a book from his lab, and started reading.

He wasn't sure how long it was before he glanced at Melina again. She was fast asleep, curled up against the arm of the couch. He considered going back downstairs, but decided against it. If she woke up while he was in the lab, who knew what she would get into.

He sighed again, and continued reading.

::::::::::::::::::::::

"Yo Doc!"

Finitevus snorted awake, eyes snapping open to glare at a laughing Scourge.

"What time is it?" Finitevus asked.

"Um…about seven in the evening. So, ya fell asleep?" Scourge asked, still grinning.

"Very perceptive, where are the others?"

"Around here somewhere; I just had to stick around and watch you two, it was too funny!"

Finitevus glanced at the couch, where Melina was still asleep.

"She's still asleep?" he muttered.

"Fi tried ta wake her up, but she's out like a light. Did you make her put all your books in alphabetical order or something?"

"No, actually, she didn't do much at all. She nearly passed out earlier for some reason, so I brought her up here to rest. I didn't think she'd stay asleep this long, though."

"You were worried about her?"

"Not exactly worried-"

"You were worried! She's growin' on ya! You're getting attached to her!"

Scourge burst into laughter, while Finitevus' eyes narrowed for a moment, before he smirked. Scourge noticed, and immediately stopped.

"I know that look, and I've never liked it…" he mumbled.

"I did my part of the deal, now it's your turn. If you'll step into my lab…"

Scourge gulped a little.

"Is this gonna hurt?"

Finitevus looked thoughtful for a moment, tilting his head.

"Hmm…maybe."

"Aw man…"

Before Scourge could make a break for it, Finitevus opened a warp ring and shoved him into it. He glanced back at Melina for a moment, before finding a blanket, and putting it over her. She seemed to smile a little, and after a few seconds, a small half smile formed on his muzzle, before he stepped into the warp ring.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::;

Aww, looks like Finny's softening up a little! But will things stay good forever? ;-)


	7. Happiness Destroyed

Ever since Melina had shown up, things had changed around the Destructix lair. Lightning was a lot more sociable, Flying wasn't bugging everyone as much, as he had Melina to run around with, Predator and Simian had loosened up some, Scourge and Fiona were somewhat friendlier, and the biggest change of all? Finitevus was actually coming up from his lab more and joining them for supper. Though he refused to admit why, the others had a pretty good idea that Melina was growing on him as well, which Scourge more than happily pointed out. This of course earned him a strong punch to the face, knocking him out of his chair. Everyone could attest to that fact though; she'd grown on everyone. Fiona, Flying, and Lightning treated her like a younger sibling.

If Sonic or any of the other Freedom Fighters were to stumble upon them, they would hardly recognize the group, personality-wise. Melina seemed to have become happier too than when she'd first arrived; she'd almost completely forgotten about the D.E.L. and the destruction of her village.

Almost.

One night, everyone woke up to her screaming. Flying and Lightning nearly broke down the door to get in, and found Melina crying in Fiona's arms. Scourge was in a spare bed in the room, sitting up, and slightly dazed from the sudden wake-up call. Finitevus and the other Destructix appeared seconds later, watching from the doorway.

"Don't let them get me…" she'd sobbed.

Fiona had rubbed her back comfortingly, murmuring, "We won't…"

Other than that, things were pretty uneventful; enjoyable, but uneventful. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually.

That end came sooner than Melina or any of the Destructix could've guessed.

:::::::::::::::::::;;

The Destructix, including Finitevus, were all sitting around the table for breakfast, an extremely rare occurrence indeed. Mostly because Finitevus was in his lab by then, and everyone else was sleeping. This was an exceedingly different matter though, as the night before, Fiona had announced she was making breakfast for whoever bothered to get their butts out of bed. Despite what anyone might think, she was a pretty good cook, and she only cooked on special occasions, such as birthdays, or if she was just in a good mood. Since it was no one's birthday, they figured it was the latter.

"Fi, babe, you never fail to amaze." Scourge sighed, swallowing a chunk of pancakes.

"Thanks, hon." Fiona said with a smile, leaning against him.

"Get a room, you two." Predator muttered.

Everyone snickered a little, before returning to eating. Suddenly, a short alarm went off, startling the group.

"What's that?" Melina asked.

"That goes off when someone's at the door. So, who's gettin' it this time?" Scourge asked.

Everyone stared at him expectantly, and he sighed.

"Don't everyone get up at once…" he grumbled, before getting up and zipping off towards the front door.

::::::::::::::

"What?" he exclaimed, flinging the door open.

He froze though, when he realized who it was; Lien-Da and a few D.E.L. members.

"Oh, hello Scourge, fancy meeting you here; I'm looking for a little friend of mine. Is it possible she's with you and your cohorts?" the female echidna asked with a smirk.

Scourge was silent for a moment, before offering a nervous grin.

"Uh, could you excuse me for a minute, thanks!"

He slammed the door shut, and hastily ran back to the table.

"Who was it, another salesman?" Finitevus asked, more interested in the paper he was reading as he gulped down some coffee.

"Or did Flying order 12 pizzas again?" Fiona added.

Flying and Melina giggled at the memory, but Scourge slammed his hands on the table, making everyone go silent.

"Lien-Da, 5 D.E.L. goons, at our door! NOW!" he yelled.

Silverware dropped, eyes widened, and everyone jumped to their feet, shouting.

"WHAT?!"

"How'd they find us?!"

"Whatta we-she-me do?!"

"QUIET!"

Finitevus' shout silenced the group.

"Okay, here's the plan; Fiona, 4 of the Destructix, and I will go out front and distract them, while the other sneaks out the back with Melina."

"Wh-who's going with me?" Melina asked, fearfully clinging to Fiona.

"Me, I'll go!"

Everyone glanced at Flying in surprise.

"Uh, are you sure, Flying?" Fiona asked.

"Yep, let's go lynxie-pinxie!"

"Uh okay!" Melina stammered as the frog grabbed her arm and pulled towards the stairs.

"Be careful, and stay quiet; head for the woods. We'll try to meet up with you if we can, but if we're not with you in ten, just go, okay?" Fiona stated.

"We got it-hit-sit!"

"You're all gonna be okay, right?" Melina asked.

Everyone was hesitant to answer, except for Scourge of course.

"Duh, we can take those goons no problem! No one stops the king!"

"You're a king?"

"_Former_ king…" Finitevus muttered.

Scourge glowered at him, and adjusted his glasses.

"Yeah, long story, tell ya later. Get going!" Fiona ordered.

Melina and Flying hurried toward the stairs, and scrambled down, while the others headed for the front door to confront Lien-Da.

:::::::::::::::::

"Well, if it isn't the rest of the club." Lien-Da snickered as Finitevus and the Destructix marched outside. There was a tense silence in the air as the two echidnas studied each other.

"Finitevus." She growled.

"Lien-Da." Finitevus replied with a calm tone.

"That's Kommisar to you!" she snapped.

"Oh, still not in charge, I see."

Lien-Da growled a curse under her breath, while the Destructix snickered and smirked.

"Alright, I'm done with the polite garbage! We're looking for a lynx!"

Scourge glanced at Lightning, before pushing him towards her a little with a smirk.

"Here ya go."

"Hey!" Lightning retorted.

"Cute, you know who I mean! A group of my troops saw her jump into a warp ring! And who do we all know specializes in those?" Lien-Da stated.

"I'm not the only person with a warp ring, you know." Finitevus retorted.

"Then I guess you won't mind if we search the place."

"Hey, even we have a right to privacy!" Fiona exclaimed.

"I wasn't talking to you-!"

"WELL TOO BAD, I'M IN THE CONVERSATION!"

Suddenly, they heard a shout, before a group of six D.E.L. goons marched into view; two were dragging a struggling Melina by her arms, while the other three had their weapons trained on a glowering Flying Frog.

"LET GO OF ME! LET ME GO!" Melina was yelling as she kicked at the two cloaked figures holding her.

"Melina!" Fiona yelled, attempting to run toward her. The five goons with Lien-Da surrounded them though, preventing any movement.

"So much for this plan…" Scourge muttered.

Lien-Da smirked at them, then at the others.

"Well, looks like I found what I'm looking for. Take her to the ship," she ordered, tossing them a warp ring.

"What about this one?" one of them asked, gesturing to Flying. The frog was eyeing the group of cronies, assessing the situation with a strangely excited gleam.

"Hmm…meh, take him too; gives us some leverage."

"Hey, you can't just take them-!" Lightning started, but fell silent when the group surrounding them aimed their weapons at them.

"I'm the one with the weapons, so I think I can. Put her and the freak in the ship!"

"Fiona, Dr. Finitevus!" Melina yelled, her eyes pleading for rescue.

"Doc, I think I've got a plan." Fiona whispered.

"What is it?"

She glanced at Flying, then back at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"I thought that was only for emergencies."

"What do you consider THIS?"

"Good point; very well then, go for it."

Fiona smirked, and glanced at Flying.

"Hey Flying,"

The frog glanced at her with an expectant grin.

"Go nuts." She said, snapping her fingers.

Suddenly, with an excited screech, Flying ripped free of the guards, and went on a full blown rampage. He grabbed two with his tongue, and flung them at the ones surrounding the Destructix. They toppled, and the group leapt into action. Scourge took out the two holding Melina, and the lynx scrambled out of the way of the fight. Two more goons tried to grab her, but Flying suddenly landed on top of them, and they were all obscured by a dust cloud. Shouts and screams could be heard.

"GET HIM OFF, GET HIM OFF!"

"GET THIS INSANE FREAK OFF ME!"

When the dust cleared, the goons were on the ground, one unconscious and the other moaning pitifully. Flying stood on top of them with a triumphant grin, before leaping off towards the last goons remaining and Lien-Da, he and the Destructix backing them towards the Warp Ring.

"So, how do you want this to go?" Scourge asked with a grin, cracking his knuckles.

Lien-Da growled, before giving a smirk.

"Fall back, and initiate the backup plan!" she yelled, before she and her cronies dove into the Warp Ring.

It closed, leaving a stunned group behind.

"What just happened?" Fiona asked.

While Finitevus was pondering Lien-Da's actions, he felt a tug on his cloak. He glanced at Melina, who was pointing up at the sky with wide eyes. Everyone followed her finger, and realized what had her attention as a large shadow enveloped them. It was a large ship, with D.E.L.'s symbol on the side.

"Oh crud…" Scourge mumbled.

"I _know_ she's not going to drop a bomb on _**my**_ lab…" Finitevus growled.

Several objects began falling from the ship, plummeting towards them.

"Nope, she's droppin' ten of 'em; MOVE!" Fiona yelled.

The team started running away from the area, but stopped when they realized Melina wasn't following. She was rooted to the spot, staring up at the ship and oncoming hazard with wide terrified eyes.

"Melina, what are you doing? Come on!" Fiona shouted.

The lynx didn't respond, and continued staring up. With an annoyed groan, Scourge raced over to her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' KID?" he shouted.

"That's…that's the ship that destroyed my village…" she murmured.

"Yeah, well it's gonna destroy US if we don't get moving!"

"Scourge you idiot, just pick her up and come on!" Finitevus shouted.

The green hedgehog glared at him, but consented, and grabbed Melina and carried her towards the others just as the first bomb hit the ground. The explosion sent the Destructix flying forward, and they hit the ground. Scourge managed to turn himself, so his back took the brunt of the impact, while Melina landed on top of him. Everyone scrambled to their feet, but the ground was shaking with explosions, and dirt was thrown in the air. The sounds were nearly deafening, but they could all still hear the sound of Melina's screaming.

"Whatta we do now?" Lightning shouted over the sounds of explosions.

Fiona glanced up at the ship, just visible through the dust cloud, and saw one large bomb heading straight for them.

"Doc, warp ring; NOW!" she shouted.

He glanced up, eyes widening a little, and he hastily opened a ring.

"Through the ring now!" he shouted, before jumping in.

The others yelped and followed him, and the ring closed, seconds before the bomb hit the ground, and everything exploded.

:::::::::::::::;

"Kommisar, the base has been destroyed, and there's no sign of the Destructix or the girl." A cloaked figure announced.

Lien-Da grumbled under her breath.

"They must've used a warp ring…well, no sense in sticking around. That dump is totaled, so there's nothing for them to go back to; return to base for now. I'll need to map out all the places they could go."

"As you wish."

The ship ascended higher, and flew off.

:::::::::::::

Down below, in what remained of the forest surrounding the base, a warp ring opened, and the Destructix stumbled out.

"We're alive..." Lightning panted.

Scourge sat up, holding his reeling head, before perking up. His sunglasses were gone.

"Where'd my shades go?" he mumbled, looking around him.

A glint caught his eye, and he picked up a small pair of glasses.

"Aw man…I think the explosion shrunk my glasses!"

"Scourge, that makes no sense." Fiona muttered.

Scourge glanced at her, glowering, when the glasses were suddenly swiped from his hand. Finitevus was frowning at him as he shoved Scourge's real shades into his hand, and put his small spectacles back on.

"I'll say it once; DON'T. TOUCH. THE GLASSES." He growled.

"Same to you…" Scourge retorted as he put his shades on.

"Looks like Lien-Da's leaving." Lightning remarked, staring after the shrinking ship.

"Good, that means we can relax for the moment." Finitevus muttered.

They all turned towards the ruins of the Destructix lair.

"Our home, our stuff, it's gone!" Fiona moaned.

"Hey, it's not too bad, we still have the TV." Scourge remarked, spotting the television set. Seconds later, it spontaneously burst into flames, and disintegrated.

"NO, WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT!" he wailed, dropping to his hands and knees.

Fiona and Finitevus glanced at each other with half-lidded eyes, while the others shook their heads tiredly. A soft sob caught their attention though, and they glanced at Melina. She was sitting against it, knees drawn up, and sobbing into her arms. Flying was crouched beside her with a worried look.

"Lynxie-pinxie sad?" he asked, glancing at the others.

"Melina, what's wrong?" Fiona asked, kneeling in beside her.

"I'm sorry…it's all my fault…!" she sobbed.

"Melina, you didn't do anything."

"It's my fault! They were after me and destroyed your home…just like my village…I shouldn't have dragged you into this, I should've just let them catch me that night and none of this would've happened! I'm sorry!"

"Melina…"

"Look Melina, none of this was your fault." Lightning said with a stern glare.

"B-but…I-!"

"It's not your fault, end of story!" Predator added.

"Yeah, and we're glad-rad-Chad you showed up!"

"Yeah, it's actually been kinda nice with you around." Simian stated.

Most of everyone added their agreements, except for Finitevus. Melina and the others glanced up at him, and he gave a small huff.

"C'mon, Doc." Scourge said with a smug grin, giving him a playful jab with his elbow.

In answer, Finitevus grabbed his throat, causing him to gag.

"Doc, Doc, I can't breathe…!"

"I suppose it has been rather…_pleasant _since you showed up…"

"You…you mean it?" Melina asked.

Finitevus gave a slight nod, releasing Scourge in the process, and the green hedgehog immediately gulped down air. Melina stared up at Finitevus with stunned eyes, before she got to her feet, and wrapped him in a hug. He stiffened, and growled under his breath.

"What did I say about HUGGING?" he shouted.

"To not to, sorry." She replied, moving back as she wiped at her eyes.

Scourge snickered, despite Finitevus' warning glare.

"So, whatta we do now?" Fiona asked.

"Well we're obviously gonna keep Lien-Da and her goons away from Melina." Lightning stated.

"Well duh, Lightning; but what are we gonna do? Our base is totaled!"

"I think I might know a place where we could acquire assistance." Finitevus muttered.

"Really, where?"

Finitevus glanced at her, and she slowly realized who he was talking about.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me."

"Do you have any other ideas?"

"What about…Moebius?"

"Uh, Fi, the people there hate me." Scourge stated.

"That's not much different than here…" Lightning muttered.

"Can someone tell me what we're talking about?" Melina asked.

"You've heard us mention the Freedom Fighters before, right?" Fiona asked.

"Yeah, but Scourge uses words I'm not allowed to say."

The green hedgehog chuckled a little as he adjusted his shades over his eyes. Fiona sighed, while everyone else crossed their arms.

"Alright, it's official; we're going to need help from…the Freedom Fighters…" Fiona announced.

There were groans all around from the Destructix members.

"I know…"

:::::::::::::::::::::

Well, looks like the Destructix are going to their worst enemy for help. This should be interesting…


	8. Scourge's Babysitting Nightmare 2

"So, why do I have to go first?" Melina asked as Finitevus opened a Warp Ring that supposedly led to Freedom HQ.

"Because if you go first they won't feel threatened. A little girl is much less threatening than a team of well-known mercenaries and a mad scientist." Fiona replied.

"But what am I supposed to say?"

"Just tell them that…you're in trouble, that's a good way to keep things friendly, and that you a few…friends need their help."

Melina tilted her head for a moment, then nodded, took a breath, and leapt through the ring.

:::::::::::::::::::

Meanwhile, at Freedom HQ…

"Alright, so, is everything right?" Sonic asked.

Sally glanced down at a clipboard she held.

"We have a number 1 with fries, a cheese burger with tater tots and a Coke, a Ceaser salad with ranch, and an order of chili dogs with a Root Beer." She announced.

There were nods from the group of Freedom Fighters in front of her, and she turned to Sonic.

"Yep, that's everything."

"Great, then let's go get lunch." Sonic said.

As he and Sally turned to the hall that led outside, a Warp Ring suddenly opened.

"Ha, told ya Knux would change his mind." Sonic stated.

Before Sally could comment, a lynx fell into the room with a grunt.

"Ugh…I hate traveling through those things…" Melina moaned.

"Umm…kid?"

She glanced up to see a group of Mobians staring at her in confusion. There was a chipmunk, a blue hedgehog that looked kinda like Scourge, a rabbit that was half robot, a coyote was next to her, a two tailed fox, a walrus, and there was another female lynx in a purple dress.

"Are…are you the Freedom Fighters?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"Yes," Sally replied, "Who are you?"

"My name's…Melina. I- my friends and I are in trouble and need your help."

"Your friends?"

"They're on the other end," Melina said, pointing back at the ring, "We really need your help…"

"Of course, we're the Freedom Fighters, it's what we do. Tell your friends to come on over." Sonic said.

"Okay…but can you promise me something? When they do…promise you won't attack them?"

"Uhh, sure, why would we?"

"Well…they're not exactly friendly…"

"Meh, we've dealt with worse. Just tell 'em to come on."

"Okay…"

Melina stuck her head through the ring, and was met with the Destructix lounging around the charred remains of their base. They glanced up upon seeing her.

"Okay, they said to come over and that they won't attack."

"Did ya tell 'em it was us?" Scourge asked dryly.

"Well, no…"

"Well then of course they said they won't attack."

"Just go." Fiona sighed.

The team approached the ring, and Melina vanished back into it.

"Shall we?" Fiona asked.

"Must we-he-he?" Flying asked.

"Let's go." Finitevus ordered.

One by one, they jumped through, and Finitevus closed it behind them.

:::::::::::::::::::

The Freedom Fighters gaped in shock as the Destructix appeared out of the Warp Ring, along with Finitevus.

"…Interesting friends you have there…" Sonic finally mumbled.

Scourge smirked. "Hey Blue."

There was a tense silence as the two groups glared at each other. Melina glanced from one to the other, before stepping forward a little.

"You promised you wouldn't attack them, remember?"

"You didn't tell us it was _them!_" Sonic grumbled.

"But you still promised!"

"Oh don't feel so down, kid, Sonic's well versed in breaking promises, aren't you?" Fiona asked as she gave the young lynx's head a pat, and glanced at Sonic with a smirk.

Sonic's eye twitched as he switched his glare from Scourge to her.

"So, what're you creeps up to this time?" Sally demanded.

"Ya'll got a lot a nerve showin' ya sorry faces here!" Bunnie added with a growl.

"Oh relax, we're not here to fight you goodie-goodies. The kid was right, we actually do need help, and you _know_ we're at our wit's end when we ask you for it."

"Right, and we should believe you because?" Sonic asked skeptically.

"Do you wanna see what's left of our base? The D.E.L. did a number on it."

"The D.E.L.?"

"Yes, for some reason they're after her." Lightning replied, gesturing to Melina.

"Why would-"

"Does it look like we know?"

"Look, we get you don't like us much, and we don't like you, but _she_ does need your help, and she's already made it clear to us she won't go anywhere without us." Fiona stated.

"And since when have you cared about someone in trouble that wasn't on your team?" Sonic asked.

The Destructix were silent for a moment, glancing away sheepishly. Sonic's face slowly transitioned to realization, and he grinned.

"_Ohh_, you care about her, eh?"

"Well, ain't that just the most adorable thang eva?" Bunnie exclaimed with a smile.

"Wooow, who'd of thought the rough and tough Destructix would go soft?"

"Shut it, Blue…" Scourge muttered.

"Is the mad scientist in on this too?"

At this Scourge perked up with a smirk, and gave a sideways glance at the albino echidna.

"Yeah, Doc, how do _you_ feel about the kid?"

His chuckle was cut off when Finitevus' fist connected with his face, and knocked him to the floor, moaning. Everyone stared for a moment in slight confusion and amusement, while Fiona gave a wry smile.

"Hmm…either it's yes and he doesn't want to admit it, or he likes hurting Scourge…or both." She remarked.

Sonic gave a laugh, before everyone's mood turned serious.

"So, what do you guys need?" Sally asked.

"Well, we definantly need to keep those D.E.L. freaks away from her, that's for sure." Lightning replied.

"Right, duh; so, let's see…I suppose you'd be safest here-"

"Whoa, whoa, you trust us just like that?" Fiona exclaimed in shock.

"Well, yeah, you got proof, Melina here proves that; and I can tell you guys honestly want to help her, as unlikely as it would seem."

"We WILL be keeping an eye on you, just to make sure you're not up to any funny business," Sally added, "But yes, we will help you."

"Great; well, that was easy, now can we find something to eat since my breakfast was ruined?" Scourge asked.

"Do you expect to just walk into the city with no one recognizing you?" Fiona asked sarcastically.

"I'll talk to Elias and see what he can do, but in the meantime…just lie low and DON'T. TRY. ANYTHING." Sally ordered.

"What could we _possibly_ do?" Scourge asked with a sly grin.

He received glares from all around, and he shrugged.

"I wanna go, can I come too?" Melina asked excitedly.

"Eh, sure, why not? Gives me a good image."

"Yay; hey Doctor Finitevus, you should come too!"

"Why the hell would I-?"

"Please?" Melina begged as her ears drooped and her red eyes seemed to double in size.

"What ARE you doing?"

"C'mon Doc, how can you say no to THAT face?" Scourge asked, throwing an arm around the echidna's shoulders.

Seconds later, he was sent flying across the room into the wall, while Finitevus glowered and brushed his shoulders of invisible dust.

"Is this gonna be a daily thing…?" Scourge moaned from the floor.

"Keep saying things like that and yes, as for you, I am not going anywhere, and you are NOT talking me into this!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

"I can't believe you talked me into this!" Finitevus growled as he, Scourge, and Melina strolled through the less busy streets of New Metropolis.

"Hey, what can I say? Melina's got the perfect puppy dog eyes." Scourge replied with a grin as he took a bite out of a chili dog.

Melina smiled innocently, and continued eating the chili dog she had. She hadn't asked Scourge how he'd gotten them; he'd said he'd find some food, ran off, and returned seconds later with three chili dogs. Finitevus had refused the third, so Scourge shrugged and ate it himself and handed her another one. Now, she was eating and staring up at all the buildings.

"This city's so big…" she murmured.

"You should see Moebius, it beats this place by a long shot." Scourge remarked.

Melina glanced back at him curiously, but spotted something behind him.

"Um…there are people following us…"

Scourge glanced back, and saw there was indeed a small group of city dwellers following and watching them curiously, a few murmuring suspiciously.

"Isn't that Finitevus and Scourge?"

"I thought Scourge was in No Zone?"

"What're they doing here? Why hasn't the oh so helpful city defender of the city done anything?"

"Who's the kid?"

"So much for lying low…" Scourge muttered.

Finitevus came to a halt, as did Melina and Scourge, and so did the group of followers. Finitevus was silent for a moment, before announcing in a loud voice,

"Anyone still behind me when I turn around will be captured and put in one of my labs to help in my…research."

He smirked when he heard several pairs of feet break into a run, and upon turning around was met with a clear sidewalk.

"There, problem solved." He stated simply, and continued walking.

"Why did they all seem nervous?" Melina asked as she followed.

"You know we aren't exactly saints, right?" Scourge asked.

"Yeah, I know…but you guys have been really nice since I showed up, right?"

"_Nicer_, we'll put it that way. I don't do totally nice, that's Sonic's job."

"Well, I believe everyone deserves a second chance."

"Well, hate to break it to ya…but people aren't exactly willing to dish those out to us. We haven't exactly gotten along well; I tried taking over the world, Doc tried doing this whole 'world rebirth' thing, Fi betrayed them, Lightning, Predator, and Simian helped us out with both of those plans, and Flying…well he's insane, and his definition of playing isn't exactly kid friendly, but I guess you're a special case."

Melina pondered all this for a minute, but turned back with a smile.

"Well you're helping me, so that proves there's some good in you guys."

Scourge and Finitevus glanced at each other skeptically, before Melina suddenly scrambled over to a window of a shop and peered in.

"Wow, this place is cool! Can we go inside, please?"

"I think we should head back-" Finitevus started, but noticed Melina giving him that look again.

He gave a sigh. "Fine…"

Scourge grinned smugly, while Melina cheered and rushed inside. The duo followed her, and found themselves in a small pawn shop. Melina was examining a rack of hats and scarves, while a raccoon was sitting in a chair with a paper in hand, more interested in the cross word than new customers.

"Welcome to Buy It Cheap, where everything's nice and cheap, how can I help you?" he asked dully as he folded the paper and set it down.

His eyes bulged out of his skull upon seeing Scourge and Finitevus.

"Top of the mornin', buddy." Scourge said with a smirk.

"Wh-whatever you want, just take it! I only have twenty bucks-!"

"Relax, we're not here for money. Kid over there wants to look around; 'sides, there's nothin' in here we're interested in anyway."

The raccoon somewhat relaxed, eyeing to the two of them and Melina carefully. After a minute, in which Scourge examined some sunglasses, and Finitevus inspected the shards of diamond he suspected were fake, Melina suddenly ran up to them with a pink hat in hand.

"Can I get it, please, please, please?" she begged excitedly.

"Kid, do you really-?"

"Please?''

Scourge sighed, shared a glance with Finitevus, and looked back at her.

"Fine…"

"That'll be ten bucks." The raccoon announced.

"Ten bucks? For a hat?" Scourge asked incredulously.

"Is that a problem?"

Finitevus and Scourge glanced at one another, and shared a smirk. Finitevus moved Melina out of ear shot, and turned back to the raccoon.

"Now, do you really want to see a little girl cry? I mean, look at this adorable little face." Scourge said, putting a hand on Melina's shoulder.

"I gotta make a living, whether you're crooks or not-"

"Do you want a little girl to have to witness us eradicating you and this store?" Finitevus added.

The raccoon stared at them in terror, before ducking his head.

"It's on the house, have a nice day." He mumbled.

Scourge and Finitevus nodded in approval, and Melina glanced at the trio curiously.

"What's goin' on?" she asked.

"Happy early birthday, you get a free hat."

"It's free?"

"Kid, when you run with us, you don't have to pay for much…or anything, really." Scourge replied.

"That's a good moral to teach…" the raccoon muttered, hiding behind his paper.

Scourge glanced back at him, and snatched the paper.

"I'm just tellin' her what I've learned. You don't think my folks raised me right?"

Finitevus snorted. "What parents?"

"That's not the key issue right now. Now, what were you saying?"

"I-I just think someone with a little more morality should be teaching a child-!"

"Oh, I've got plenty of 'morality', I just choose not to use it. Wanna see how my morals can affect you?"

"Scourge,"

"Hold on Doc, I'm on a role,"

"Scourge,"

"WHAT?!"

"She's gone."

Scourge whipped around to see Finitevus was right; Melina was nowhere in the store.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me! Melina!"

Scourge raced out of the store, his shout fading away "We need to get a beeper for this kid! Melina! Melina…!"

Finitevus groaned irritably as he followed.

"I knew this was a bad idea, but did anyone listen to me? _Nooo_…"

The raccoon stared after them for a moment, before resting his forehead on the glass counter.

"I don't get paid enough to do this job…" he moaned.

:::::::::::::::::::::::

Well, looks like Melina's gone again. Scourge is right, someone needs to get a beeper for her…

Anyway, next chapter will finally bring in one of my favorite characters! Can't wait to put the picture up for that one… ^^


	9. A Dynamite Friendship

Melina came to a halt, panting as she rested her hands on her knees. She knew Scourge and Finitevus were probably really mad at her for running off on her own again, but back at the store, she'd seen someone run by. She didn't know what, but something told her to follow. Now, she was tailing them through Mobotropolis, but she could never catch up to them. The best look she'd gotten was back at the store; they were about as tall as her, maybe an inch shorter, what looked like green fur, and a red bandanna.

She glanced up, and spotted the person again, peering around the corner at her. They immediately vanished behind the corner, and, after adjusting her new pink hat, she raced after them.

"Wait!" she yelled.

She turned the corner, and screeched to a halt. Two big burly dogs were towering over the person she'd been following; a green duck, and what she thought was fur was actually feathers. He was on the ground, and the dogs were growling down at him.

"Watch where you're goin' kid!" the red one on the left growled.

"Maybe having your feathers plucked'll teach you to watch it!" the grey one on the right added, grabbing the duck's bandanna and yanking him off the ground.

"Hey, leave him alone!"

All eyes turned to Melina, who was glaring at the two dogs. The duo stared at her for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

"Ohhh, what a _scary_ little girl!"

"Yeah, I'm shedding with fear!"

"I mean it! Let him go!" Melina retorted.

"And what are you going to do if we don't, girly?" the red one asked as they started towards her.

Melina gulped as she took a step backwards.

"S-stay away!"

They grinned as they continued forward, and the small green duck was glancing back and forth from them to Melina with fearful blue eyes. Melina took one more step back.

"STAY _BACK_!" she yelled, throwing one hand forward.

Next thing anybody knew, the red dog was sent flying backwards by a blast of blue energy. He smacked into the wall, and sank to the ground unconscious. The grey dog and the duck stared at him, then at Melina in shock.

"Whoa…cool! Do it again, do it again!" the duck cheered excitedly.

The dog threw the duck at Melina, and they collided as the dog grabbed his friend, threw him over his shoulder, and glared at the twosome.

"This is a warning, brats! Stay off our turf and we won't hurt you! You better be gone by the time we're back!"

With that, he turned around and stalked off.

Melina and the duck sat up, and after a moment of regaining their senses, the duck spoke up.

"That was cool! It was pretty and shiny, and really cool!"

"Thanks…I don't know what that was…" Melina mumbled, staring at her hand in shock.

"It looked like that stuff Mr. Red and Black Needle Nose uses, except his is green."

"Who?"

"Black quills, red streaks, bad temper, not ringing any bells?"

"No, but he sounds like a different person I know. By the way, I'm Melina, who are you?"

"I'm Bean, but most of my friends call me 'BEAN, PUT THAT OUT, NOW'!"

Melina giggled, before glancing around.

"How am I gonna get back to my friends though? I wasn't paying attention when I was following you; how come you kept running away?"

"I thought we were playing tag and you were it."

"I saw you run by the store and for some reason I felt like I should follow you. Now I need to get back to my friends, or at least Freedom HQ…"

"Oh, I can take ya there! I've been there tons of times!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, my friends and I snuck in there a few times; oh, and the Freedom Fighters dragged me there for an interrogation once, but they kicked me out cuz they said I'm 'dangerously unpredictable'."

"Why would they say that?"

Bean didn't answer, and she looked back to see him drawing a face on a small, lit, bomb. He paused, and glanced at her.

"I dunno, what do you think Bombinski?" he asked, looking at the bomb.

"Bean, put that out, now!"

"Hey, that's what everyone else calls me-!"

Melina grabbed the bomb and threw it down the alley way, before grabbing Bean's arm and racing off as an explosion sounded. There was loud cursing from two familiar voices as they scrambled towards the more busy part of Mobotropolis.

::::::::::::::::::::::

"YOU LOST HER AGAIN?!" Fiona shouted.

"It's not my fault! She was right behind me one second, then gone the next!" Scourge retorted.

He and Finitevus had returned to Freedom HQ without Melina, and Scourge was now receiving an earful from Fiona as she chewed him out for losing Melina again.

"Hey, Von Creepy lost her too! Why aren't you shouting at him?!"

"_I_ didn't lose her, _I_ didn't even want to go!" Finitevus retorted as he glared at the green hedgehog.

"Yeah, but you came cuz you just couldn't resist a cute little girl batting her big red eyes at ya, huh?"

Finitevus suddenly growled and grabbed Scourge's jacket, yanking him close so he was glaring him in the eye.

"WANT ME TO PUT YOU THROUGH THE WALL?!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, VON CREEPY!"

"CALL ME THAT ONE MORE TIME, AND I'LL-!"

"GUYS!"

Sally's shout interrupted them, and they glanced at her.

"We're not getting anywhere with you shouting at each other!"

"He started it!" they yelled in unison.

"Look, don't worry; Nicole can find her in no time. We all just need to stay calm."

"I am calm!" Finitevus retorted.

"Yeah, if you consider calm shouting at everyone and everything. You must be _reeeaally_ worried about her…" Sonic remarked with a sly grin.

While this got a laugh out of Scourge and the rest of the people in the room, Finitevus wasn't laughing. With a low growl, he stalked towards the blue hedgehog with hands cloaked in black Chaos energy, and Sonic scrambled backwards with a yelp.

"Hey everybody, I'm back!"

Everyone stopped when Melina suddenly skipped into the room. Upon seeing the surprised looks, and Finitevus nearly strangling Sonic, she stopped and returned it with a confused one. After a brief second, Scourge suddenly growled and raced toward her. Melina yelped and ran back into the hall, but a few seconds later, Scourge was dragging her back into the room by her arm.

"Let go, let go, let go!" she yelled as she pulled on her arm.

"Where the hell have you been? What were you thinking running off like that? Do you know how long we were looking for you?" Scourge shouted furiously.

"I-I'm sorry, I was just-"

"Do you know how much of a head ache I have because I had to listen to him complaining the whole way back?!" Finitevus added irritably.

Scourge shot an annoyed glare at him, before returning it to Melina.

"Well, where'd you go?" he asked.

"I saw somebody outside the shop and felt like I was supposed to follow him, and I did."

"Who was it?"

"Well, he was behind me when I came in-"

"Heeeey! Melina, check out this shiny cool thing I found!"

Bean raced into the room with a pair of metallic pink headphones in hand, and the Freedom Fighters, Predator, and Fiona yelped.

"What the hell is _he_ doing here?!" Fiona exclaimed.

"Hey, those are my headphones!" Sally grumbled.

"You were following Bean?" Predator asked.

"Yeah, he's actually really fun, even when he gets distracted by shiny stuff or pulls out those bombs." Melina replied.

Everyone was silent for a moment, before Fiona sighed, massaged her forehead.

"Why is it always the freaks she gets along with…?"

"Hi Miss Backstabber, hi Mr. Needlenose!" Bean waved.

Fiona gave a dry smirk, while Sonic sighed.

"So Bean, what are you doing in Mobotropolis, and where's Bark and Fang? Last I heard, you were riding with them." Fiona asked.

Bean cocked his head for a moment in thought.

"Hmm…I dunno where they are. And I don't remember what I was doing here either…oh well, must not be important! If it was, I'd remember it, right?"

Everyone glanced at each other questioningly, before Bean piped up again.

"You shoulda seen Melina earlier! She was awesome! She beat up a big mean dog guy who was being mean to me!"

"Really, you sure it's Melina we're talkin' about?" Scourge asked skeptically.

"Yeah, she used this shiny blue energy stuff!"

Everyone perked up at this, and Melina glanced at the floor nervously as she felt their gazes fall on her.

"It kinda looked like that stuff Mr. Black and Red Needlenose uses."

"Black and red- ya mean Shadow?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, him; except his is green."

"You're talking about his Chaos energy, right?"

"Yeah, that; oh, and I saw Mr. White Knuckles-Knock-Off using it too, once, except it was black!"

Everyone was silent, before Scourge snorted, then burst into laughter, while Finitevus was glaring death at the small green duck.

"NEVER CALL ME THAT!" he shouted furiously.

"Anyway," Sally said, trying to hide her laughter, "You're saying Melina used Chaos energy?"

Melina shifted nervously when everyone looked at her again.

"I-I-I dunno what it was…the dog guy was coming at me, and I wanted him to stop…then he hit the wall and got knocked out."

"Yeah, he got hit by that shiny blue stuff!" Bean added.

"If she has Chaos powers that might explain why the D.E.L.'s after her…" Lightning stated.

Finitevus looked thoughtful for a moment, before walking over to Melina.

"Child, are you positive you know nothing of why they're after you?"

Melina was hesitant to answer.

"I…I…y-yes, I'm sure…"

"Look at me and answer."

Her panic filled eyes glanced at him, then at a puzzled Fiona and Lightning. "I-I-I…"

"Look. At. Me. Not at them, at me!"

"Doc, ease off-" Scourge started, but fell silent when Finitevus held a glowing hand at him.

"Do you know something or not?"

"I…"

"Yes or no?!"

"Yes!"

"What do you know?"

"They said I was unstable!"

Everyone was silent, except for Bean, but he was quickly distracted when Fiona handed him a spoon.

"What do you mean unstable?" Sonic asked.

"…I didn't know at first. That lady and some of those hooded people came one day and talked to the village elder. I was listening from outside, and I heard her say, 'The power she holds is highly unstable, we merely wish to take her with us in order to stabilize them'. I didn't know what they meant then, and I forgot about it till now…but then today when we got attacked, and that…thing I did…maybe that's what they meant. I've never done that before, but I've always felt…like there was something weird about me…"

Finitevus was thoughtful for a moment, before holding out his hand, an aura of black energy around it.

"Give me your hand for a moment."

Melina hesitantly reached forward, placing her hand in his. A split second later, a bright blue aura formed around her, and Finitevus was sent flying back into the wall with a yelp.

"You okay, Doc?" Scourge asked.

Finitevus grumbled incoherently as he adjusted his glasses with one hand, and held his reeling head with the other.

"Yes, that is very unstable…" he muttered as he stood.

"Sorry…" Melina mumbled, staring wide eyed at her hand.

"Alright, so that's one mystery solved, now let's figure out the rest; how to stop the D.E.L." Scourge stated.

"Maybe Fist For Brain's big fancy emerald can help. That thing's usually helpful when it comes to Chaos energy matters, right?" Fiona asked.

"Yes, speaking of which; how did the guardian accept the news of us teaming up?" Finitevus asked.

Sonic went rigid for a second.

"Uhh…he accepted it…_really_ well…"

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"…No, no I didn't…"

"Are you waiting for him to show up one day and find us here, because that would end SO much better…"

"Look, I'm gonna tell him! I'm just tryin' to figure out a good way to tell, cuz we all know how _great_ you two get along."

"Just be honest." Sally stated.

"Right, right, I'll just walk up to him and say, 'Hey Knux, how's it goin? Oh by the way, Finitevus and the Destructix are at HQ, whatcha got planned for lunch?'"

A warp ring suddenly opened in front of him.

"I'm sure you'll think of somethin' Blue, good luck!" Scourge said, before shoving Sonic through the ring.

It closed as Sonic's shouts could be heard from the other end.

"Wait, wait, WAIT-!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Yay, Bean's finally appeared! I was planning on him showing up for a while. I've got a good role for him later!

So Melina's powers are finally revealed; will she learn to control them? And will Sonic be able to tell Knuckles the 'great news'? Stay tuned to find out!


	10. It's a Stubborn Stubborn Echidna

Everyone was sitting around the room, waiting for Sonic to reappear. Melina, Flying, and Bean were entertained by playing a game of 'What Am I', Fiona and Sally were watching with mild interest, Tails, Nicole, and Lightning were engaging in a discussion over defenses, Bunnie and Antoine had gone out to get their own lunch, and Rotor and Finitevus were having a 'science talk', as Scourge called it, before he rested his forehead on the table and didn't lift it back up, and a faint snoring sounded soon after. Predator and Simian were sitting nearby and listening with little to no interest.

Finally, a warp ring opened up, and Sonic jumped out. Upon everyone's questioning looks, he gave a nervous grin, before Knuckles appeared out of the ring. Sonic quickly spun him around to face him instead of the group.

"What's up Sonic? You showed up freaked out of your mind, then said you had something to tell me. Why do you have to drag me all the way from Angel Island-"

"Just-just listen for a sec, okay? Now then, there are some…people who need our help."

"Okay, and this involves me how?"

"Well, the people are…certain people that we all know…and we've had a few disputes with 'em…we just want you to know so you won't show up one day and attack 'em."

Knuckles crossed his arms and glared.

"Just spit it out Sonic…"

"Well…okay, here it goes…just please don't start throwing punches…"

"I won't." Knuckles sighed.

Sonic gulped, and pointed behind him. Knuckles turned around, and upon seeing the Destructix, just _stopped._

"Hiya Mr. Fist-For-Brains!" Bean waved.

Finitevus gave an amused smirk. "Greetings, Guardian, long time no see."

Knuckles just stared for a minute, before his eye twitched. Finitevus sighed, and glanced at Fiona and Sally.

"Cover the children's ears, I believe he's going to use his 'angry words'."

Fiona and Sally rolled their eyes, but quickly covered Melina and Bean's ears, and Sonic plugged his ears with a nervous look. A few seconds later, a loud shout of various, rather colorful, words. Scourge was jolted awake by the shouting, and blinked around blearily. After he was done, Knuckles was glaring at the team and panting a little, while they stared at him with amusement, or in a few cases, surprise.

"I still heard…" Melina mumbled.

"Goodness…" Finitevus remarked.

"I didn't even know some of those words existed…" Scourge muttered.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING HERE?! WHAT THE HELL IS _HE_ DOING HERE?!" Knuckles shouted furiously.

Sonic unplugged his ears as he grinned nervously.

"I told you, they need help…and I told you we've had a few…issues with them in the past."

"You didn't tell me it was them! I got half a mind to punch you into next year!"

"Now, now, Knux, let's think about this _calmly_-"

"Calm my foot! What are you thinking letting _him_ in here?!"

"What are we, chopped liver?" Fiona asked dryly.

"I'll get to _you_ jerks later! Now tell me why the hell Finitevus is here!"

"If you want a direct answer," Finitevus replied, gesturing Melina, "It's because of her."

Knuckles seemed to just notice Melina, who gave a nervous wave and smiled.

"Hi…"

He blinked, before glaring back at the albino echidna.

"Okay, and she is?"

"A poor little girl in trouble," Fiona replied with a smirk, giving Melina's head a pat, "And we, being the _good-natured _people we are, decided to help her out, and the D.E.L. blew up our base."

"Uh huh, I'll believe that when I see it…"

In answer, Finitevus opened a warp ring, and gestured to it.

"See for yourself…"

With a suspicious glare, Knuckles stuck his head through it, and came back out seconds later.

"Okay, so it's a blown up building, that doesn't mean anything." He grumbled.

"It was our base, until recently." Fiona stated.

"And why should we believe you?"

"Because it's true!" Melina exclaimed.

"Look kid, no offense to you, but I know these people a lot better-"

"I've known them for a week and I think they're just fine!"

"That's not really a surprise, seeing as you're, what, six?"

"I'm eight, and my age has nothing to do with it!"

"Look kid-"

"My name is Melina, not kid!"

"Alright, fine, _Melina_, I'll be blunt! I don't trust them, I don't trust Finitevus especially, and at the moment I'm finding it a little hard to trust you!"

Melina froze for a moment, her eyes widening, and tears formed in her eyes. Then they narrowed, and she kicked his leg; hard. While he was holding his leg in pain, she ran out of the room crying.

"Ohhh, nice." Fiona remarked as she watched her go. "Flying, can you go check on her?"

Flying quickly followed the young lynx, and disappeared down the hall.

"I _love _this kid!" Scourge remarked with a smirk.

"Congratulations, Guardian, you made a little girl cry." Finitevus stated.

"Well she kicked me!"

"After you practically yelled in her face that you think she's lying."

"Well it wouldn't surprise me since she's with you people! I wouldn't put it beneath any of you to get a kid to lie for you-!"

"Oh no," Scourge snorted, "No, no, no, ohhh no. Nobody is that desperate; listen Red, it doesn't take much to fool you, as we've aaall learned, so we sure as hell wouldn't need an eight year old to lie for us to trick you."

Knuckles growled at him, while there were a few snickers around the room.

"But she isn't lying; the D.E.L.'s after her, and she had nowhere to go, so we took her in," Lightning stated, "Our base wasn't the only home destroyed. She used to live in a village…"

Knuckles growled, and stubbornly replied, "I'm still not buying it!"

"Alright then…" Finitevus snapped, suddenly standing. He started towards Knuckles, opening a warp ring as he went, and grabbed the guardian, and shoved him through the portal. He followed soon after, and the others glanced at one another, before following curiously.

:::::::::::

Knuckles hit ground, and grumbled under his breath as he stood. He glanced around, and froze.

He was in the center of a village; or what was left of it. What used to be houses made of wood and stone were now piles of smoldering rubble. There were pits in the ground, and various objects strewn across the ground; scorched and distorted kitchen utensils, burnt clothes, a few wrecked books, some broken toys…

Everyone else came out of the warp ring, and they froze as well.

"What is all this…?" Fiona murmured.

"Melina's village…or whatever's left of it." Finitevus replied. "I got curious, so I searched for it. As you can see, I didn't find much."

"This is her home…?" Lightning asked.

"She told us they dropped a few bombs, but this…this was overkill." Fiona stated.

Bean was sifting through some rubble curiously, and pulled something out. He wiped it off, and studied it for a moment.

"Hey, lookie, I found a picture of her!" he cheered, showing it to the others.

The photo depicted an elderly fox, who was watching a smaller fox as she played with a younger Melina, who looked about 6 in the photo. All of them were smiling happily.

"This must've been that old guy's house." Scourge stated.

"She looked happier then…" Lightning remarked.

"Well duh, that was before her village got blown sky high."

A few people shot an annoyed glare at him, and he shrugged. "What?"

"Is it hitting you that Melina was the sole survivor of this massacre?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, I know that."

"So have a little respect for the village and the people that lived in it."

"Who said I didn't?"

"Please, you never respect anybody."

"Only people who deserve it!"

"So nobody?"

"Exactly!"

"I know he respects me, right?" Fiona asked, with a warning glance.

"O-of course, babe! You're the exception!" Scourge replied.

"And of course us, the people who got him out of jail?" Lightning asked.

Scourge glanced at the Destructix, who all had the same warning glare.

"S-sure, of course, you guys are the other exception!"

"And the one who _gave_ them the means to _get_ him out of prison?" Finitevus asked.

"Fine, yes, whatever, Spooky Von Evil…"

"Good enough; and for the last time, stop calling me that!"

"Can we focus, please?" Sally sighed.

"So, Knux, believe 'em yet?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles was silent for a moment as he stared at the wreckage.

"….Yeah, I believe them…but I'm gonna keep an eye on them!"

"Great, problem two solved; now let's get out of here, this place is actually depressing _me._" Scourge stated, heading for the warp ring.

The others slowly followed, still eyeing the destruction, before they vanished into the ring.

:::::::::::::

They arrived back at HQ, and everyone turned to Knuckles.

"Alright, so, you know what's next, right?" Fiona asked.

"Umm…think up a plan?"

"Nope; _you_ go find her and _apologize_."

"Say what?!"

"I kinda have to agree with her, Knux, you did hurt the kid's feelings." Sonic added.

"But-!"

"Just go!" Sally sighed.

Knuckles glowered, before stalking towards the hall, grumbling incomprehensibly.

"You remember how to say it right? 'I'm, _sooorrry'_-" Sonic snickered.

"I know how to apologize!" Knuckles shouted.

Sonic laughed again, and watched him go.

"Hmm, Red apologizing…I'm not missing this!" Scourge grinned.

"Me neither!" Sonic said.

They started towards the hall, but Finitevus' voice stopped them.

"Stay."

"Aww…"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Knuckles found Melina leaning against the wall, curled up in a quivering ball. Flying was crouched beside her with a worried look. Upon seeing Knuckles, it turned into a glower.

"What do you-sue-shoo want?" he grumbled.

Melina glanced up to see who he was talking to, and winced when she saw it was Knuckles.

"I'm not lying…" she mumbled.

"I know…I…saw your village…"

Melina winced again, sniffling as she wiped at her eyes.

"I'm…sorry about shouting at you…I just really don't like those guys, especially Finitevus. It's a long story…but you're in trouble, I can tell. So I'll put up with them to help you."

"Okay…but can't you be nicer to them?"

"…I'll _try_, how's that?"

Melina gave a small laugh, and smiled.

"I guess it's good enough, for now."

"Great, so, let's head back so they know that I actually apologized and didn't run off."

Melina stood, and Flying followed with his usual grin back on. Knuckles gave him a curious look.

"So…how exactly did you befriend a psychopath?"

"I don't know, we just get along well; kinda like Bean too."

"Heee-heee!" Flying laughed.

Knuckles gave him an odd look, before started back towards the main room, with Melina and Flying in tow.

::::::::::::::::::::::

Aww, touching moment, isn't it? Only interrupted by Flying's craziness. Hope you enjoyed, I loved typing Knuckles' reaction!


	11. Professional Actress

With the whole Knuckles crisis out of the way, the teams were able to move on to more important things; for the Freedom Fighters, it was planning on how to handle the D.E.L. if they found them. For the Destructix…well, Finitevus' priorities were gathering what was left of his research and library in the basement. Somehow it had managed to survive the bombing from the D.E.L.

"Do you really need all this junk Doc?" Scourge grumbled as he hefted a large box of files from the warp ring to the table. Finitevus shot a glare at him.

"My research is not junk, and yes, I need it." He retorted.

Scourge sighed, and dropped the box on the table and flopped into the chair beside it. Melina popped out of the ring, followed by Bean, Flying, and Lightning, each carrying something. Flying and Lightning were handling two boxes of papers, while Bean and Melina were carrying a few books. The younger lynx sheepishly held out the book she'd borrowed from Finitevus the other day. It was charred, and the corners were partially gone.

"Umm…here's your book back…it kinda got burnt…"

Finitevus rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Just put it with the rest…"

"Geez, Finitevus, how much stuff do you have?" Sonic asked, eyeing the many boxes on the table.

"Do you ever do anything _besides_ lab work?"

The Destructix were silent, before bursting into laughter.

"Finitevus not do lab work? That's like you or me not running!" Scourge guffawed.

"…Good point…" Sonic muttered.

Finitevus glowered at the two hedgehogs, before returning to reading the file he was holding.

"So _why_ are we helping them again?" Julie-Su asked. Knuckles had told her to come over to help with planning, and explained the situation to her. She hadn't been too comfortable with the idea.

"Like I said earlier, Su, the Legion's after Melina, and _she_ refuses to go anywhere without them. Don't ask me why…" Knuckles muttered.

"Hmph, we'd be better off without 'em if you ask me…"

"You know we can hear you, right?" Fiona asked.

"Like I care!"

"Ladies, ladies, let's keep things calm!" Sonic stated nervously.

Both females glowered at each other, before turning away with crossed arms. Melina glanced at them worriedly, but shrugged, and switched her gaze to Finitevus. She fidgeted a little, and Bean nudged her with his elbow.

"C'mon, c'mon, ask him!" he whispered excitedly.

She glanced at him and nodded, and approached the white echidna.

"Umm…Dr. Finitevus?"

He glanced at her over the file, and she swallowed nervously.

"Um, I wanted to ask you something…"

"…What is it?"

"Well, I was…wondering if…you could, um…well, uh…"

"You're losing my attention…"

"Well, I thought that since, you know, I have uncontrollable Chaos energy, I should learn to control it better."

"Okay, and?"

"I was thinking…maybe…you could help me?"

Everyone paused upon hearing her question, and watched the lynx and echidna curiously. Finitevus was staring at her in mild surprise, before looking back down at the file.

"I'm sure everyone else would prefer the guardian teach you…" he muttered.

"Er, yeah, I wouldn't mind training you." Knuckles added.

"Well, yeah, but…don't take this the wrong way, but I think it'd be better if Finitevus did it."

"See, cuz we figured that since Melina's got a weird shiny power that's different from the stuff Fist Brains and Moody Quills uses, she should learn from someone else with weird shiny powers that's different than theirs!" Bean stated.

Everyone was silent for a moment as they stared at him in surprise.

"Wow that actually made sense." Scourge remarked.

"Pretty please, Dr. Finitevus?" Melina asked with a sweet smile.

"I don't have the time or patience to deal with training a child." Finitevus replied, eyes still focused on the file.

"Pleeeaaaase-?"

"No, that's final, and I'm NOT falling for that face again."

Melina pouted a little, before Bean nudged her, and winked. She gave a slight nod, and turned around, and started sniffling and trembling a little, as though she were crying. Knuckles and Julie-Su, who'd been behind her, were giving her slightly confused looks. Everyone else was staring at her worriedly, while Finitevus continued glaring down at the file. Melina's soft sobbing continued for about a minute or two, before Finitevus finally slammed the file on the table and snapped,

"FINE!"

Melina quickly turned around and smiled, her face completely dry and cheerful. "Yay, when do we start?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, and Finitevus stared at her incredulously. Then, Scourge snorted, followed by everyone else.

"If ANYONE starts laughing I will open a warp ring to the nearest volcano!" Finitevus shouted.

The group glanced at each other with smirks.

"I can fly." Tails stated.

"Me too." Predator added.

"Me three-free-tree!" Flying put in.

"Aaaand…I really don't care, so," Scourge said, before bursting into loud laughter, followed by everyone else.

"Oh man, that was priceless!" Fiona laughed.

"Doc, I think you just got duped." Sonic stated with a snicker.

"Kid, you've got skill! I'm seeing a bright future of getting what you want ahead of you!" Scourge laughed.

Finitevus was growling under his breath as he gave an annoyed glare at Melina. She shrugged with a smile.

"Well, you guys better get started. I can take you to our training grounds. I can't _wait_ to see this…" Julie-Su stated with a smirk, and started walking off. Melina followed excitedly. Everyone else glanced at Finitevus, snickering to themselves. Well, mostly everyone; Scourge was still laughing loudly.

"Oh man…he he, that was too funny…!"

"Well then," Finitevus said, suddenly standing directly in front of the green hedgehog, and Scourge yelped a little from the sudden proximity of the echidna.

"If you think it's _sooo_ amusing, you can be the _training dummy!_" Finitevus growled, grabbing Scourge's head quills and stalking after Melina and Julie-Su.

"DOC, OW, OW, HAIR, HAIR, _HAIR!_" Scourge yelled as he was dragged behind the fuming echidna.

Sonic snickered again, before he and the others glanced at one another.

"Hm, Finitevus training an eight year old girl to use an unusually powerful force of energy…well, I'm not missing this!" the blue blur stated, before zooming after them.

"Right behind ya!" Tails called, following him.

"Wait up!" Bean yelled, hurrying after them.

The rest of the teams glanced at each other, before grinning and following the group.

:::::::::::::::::::::::


	12. Training Daze

"Okay, so how do I start?" Melina asked anxiously, bouncing up and down excitedly.

Finitevus was studying her silently, while Scourge muttered to himself as he rubbed the top of his head where the echidna had grabbed him earlier. The others had assembled on the sidelines, watching the trio with interest.

"For starters, stop bouncing," he replied.

The lynx immediately stilled, and stared at him with eager red eyes. He sighed as he massaged his forehead, trying to think of a proper way to begin a training session in chaos energy.

"How about she justs starts throwin stuff?" Scourge suggested.

"You _want_ her to throw waves of unstable chaos energy around with the possibility of it blowing us all the way to Angel Island or further?" Finitevus deadpanned.

The hedgehog shrugged as he adjusted his sunglasses. Finitevus sighed irritabley, and turned back to Melina.

"Alright...let's just try summoning it on your own for now; hold out your hands,"

Melina followed his orders with an eager smile, eyes focused solely on him.

"Alright, now focus; chaos energy stems from the strongest point of your body."

"Wha?"

Both Melina and Scourge were giving him odd looks, and he rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"It varies among people; for example, _his_," he gestured to Sonic, "Would stem from his heart; it's his strongest point since...ugh, this is going to be sickening to say...he fights to keep everything and everyone close to him safe."

"Aw, thanks Fin." Sonic said with a smirk.

"Shut up, and _do not _ever call me that again."

"Ok, I think I get it; hey, whatta 'bout me, Doc? What's mine?" Scourge asked, almost as eager as Melina was.

Finitevus raised an eyebrow.

"You, I'm not quite sure, you're a bit too self-absorbed for it to be your heart..."

Scourge frowned as everyone snickered quietly behind him.

"Oh yeah, and what's yours, oh _wise _leader?"

"My mind, obviously."

"You sure it ain't just your head? With how inflated it gets I'm surprised."

This got more laughs from the onlookers, even a giggle from Melina, and Scourge grinned triumphantly. It fell though, when he saw Finitevus encased in an aura of black chaos energy.

"H-Hey, I was...just kiddin' Doc, heh heh..."

Finitevus smirked, and the aura grew stronger. Seconds later, Scourge found himself trapped against the post by a ring of black energy.

"H-Hey, whatta you think you're doing?! Let me outta this!"

"On second thought, I think we _will _start with attacks; let's start with a live demonstration, shall we?" Finitevus asked, before throwing a small wave of chaos energy at him.

It hit the post just above Scourge's head, singeing a few quills, and causing him to yelp. Sonic burst into laughter, leaning on a smirking Knuckles for support.

"Shut up, Blue! Get me down from here right now Von Creepy!"

"I'm sorry, that's not my name, so your demand is invalid; now then, just do what I did, Melina."

"But...I can't summon it without something causing it." Melina stammered.

"As I said earlier, just focus; picture it in your mind, and let it form in your hand."

She glanced at him for a moment nervously, before nodding and closing her eyes. Her face slowly creased in concentration, and everyone else could see that slowly, a small blue orb was forming in her hands. Everyone was quiet, even Scourge had stopped his angered shouts with a look of awe. She cracked her eyes open a little, before all the way when she saw the orb. An excited grin spread across her face as she quickly turned to Finitevus.

"Hey look, I did it-!"

The orb suddenly shot forward, nailing him in the gut, and sending him flying into a nearby tree. Everyone was silent for a minute, and she stared at him with wide eyes as he weakly sat up. Then Scourge burst into loud laughter, followed by Knuckles, Sonic, and Julie-Su.

"Ha, how do you like them apples Doc?! Ain't karma a-!"

"Scourge!" Fiona snapped.

He paused for a moment, then frowned.

"What, like she hasn't heard me say worse?"

Fiona rolled her eyes, and glanced at Finitevus.

"You okay, Doc?"

"Fine..." he muttered, rubbing his now throbbing head.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Melina exclaimed as she ran over to Finitevus.

"I'm really sorry, I just got really excited, I didn't know it would-!"

The echidna held up a hand, and she fell silent.

"It's fine; just try again."

"Hey Doc, I'm not against her learning how to fry people, but I'd appreciate it if you gave her a new target." Scourge stated.

Finitevus rolled his golden eyes as he snapped his fingers. The energy vanished, and he fell to the ground with a grunt.

"Alright, since our original dummy is quitting, just aim for the post."

"Okay kid, come on, let's see some destruction." Fiona cut in, urging Melina to start.

Melina nodded, repeated the earlier process, and let it fly.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The chaos blasts had hit everything _but _the post; they didn't even hit the nearby posts. The Destructix and Freedom Fighters ducked, jumped, and flew to avoid them, and they were always followed by hasty apologies from their thrower.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! Look out, I'm sorry!"

Finitevus, after being hit _twice_, had ordered Nicole to make _something _to stand behind, but would still allow them to watch.

"Okay kid, let's try that again...aim for the _post!_" Scourge snapped. He'd been hit twice by blasts that had originally been flying at Sonic or Finitevus, before they'd moved out of the way.

"I'm _trying_." Melina whined.

"You're doing fine, kid, just keep practicing." Knuckles called.

"We've been at this for an _hour_!" Finitevus muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, well not everyone can pick up on controlling chaos as easy as _you_. Have a little patience!" Sonic stated.

"You go out there and get hit three times and see how much patience you have...and who are _you _to lecture _me _on patience?!"

"Hey, I wasn't trying to insult anybody-!"

"Look out!"

Melina's shout caught everyone's attention, and looked up to see another blast coming at them.

"SHINY!" Bean exclaimed with a huge grin.

"INCOMING!" Scourge shouted. The sound of of approaching feet was lost in the scramble to get out of the way.

A warp ring opened, and the blast flew into it. There was an explosion a few feet away, followed by a yelp. Everyone paused for a moment, and slowly looked towards it, and felt their stomachs drop.

Elias, covered in scorch marks, stood wide eyed in the a few feet away from the group.

"Oops..." Sally mumbled.

"Ohhh, you hit the Kiiing...you're in trouble, you're in trouble!" Bean sang.

Melina glanced at him, then at Elias in horror.

"K-King...?"

She scrambled over, bowing frantically.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Elias coughed a little, before giving a smile.

"It's fine...I was just wondering where everyone was. You weren't in the base, but I heard explosions and followed them here. Seems I have impeccable timing."

"No kiddin'..." Scourge snickered.

The king's eyes fell on the Destructix, and they all studied each other for a moment.

"So tell me, how is it a team of notorious mercenaries and mad scientist come across a little girl with unfathomable power...and decide to help her instead of use her?"

They were silent for a moment, before Bean suddenly chimed in.

"Cuz they all like her and act like she's their sister!"

"No we don't!" Fiona hastily retorted.

Bean glanced at Melina with a grin, and she returned it before pouting.

"You don't like me?" she asked with folded ears.

The team backpedaled.

"Don't...don't pull that face!" Fiona stammered.

Melina smiled innocently as the others smirked knowingly.

"No one can resist the plea of a helpless little girl." Julie-Su stated.

"Hey I'm not _entirely_ helpless. I can use that chaos stuff, right?"

"Barely..." Finitevs muttered.

"I'm learning, okay?"

Scourge snickered.

"Aw don't sweat it kid; the student's only as good as the teacher."

He laughed a little, but stopped when he realized no one else was. Finitevus was glaring at him, before approaching him with a humorless laugh. He snatched the sunglasses off of Scourge's head, and handed them to Bean.

"You can keep them if you run away really fast right now."

"Yay, my shiny!"

Bean took off, and Scourge shouted after him.

"HEY, BRING THOSE BACK!"

He shot a furious glare at Finitevus.

"If he breaks them I'm gonna break you," he growled, before racing after Bean, "COME BACK HERE YOU FEATHER BRAINED IDIOT!"

Sonic burst into laughter, and Fiona knelt beside Melina with a snicker.

"Melina, Bean might not be coming back. Just letting you know in case Scourge comes back with blood on him."

Melina's eyes widened in terror.

"Wh-what?"

"She's kidding, Melina, just kidding." Sally said quickly, giving Fiona an annoyed glare. The young lynx looked a little doubtful, but nodded anyway. Sally offered a smile, before leaning towards Sonic and whispering.

"Go make sure Scourge doesn't kill him."

The blue hedgehog nodded with a grin, and racing off in the direction they'd gone. Elias watched him go, before shaking his head and turning back to the rest of the two teams.

"Anyway...so have you formed any plans in case the Legion tracks you down?"

"Well, I wanna sock Lien-Da in the face a few times, but other than that I got nothing." Fiona replied.

"I see...well, we'll work on it. In the mean time, I've made the announcement of your presence. You're here for protection from the Legion, but under strict watch from Nicole and the royal guard. Try anything and you'll be arrested faster than Sonic can run."

"Sure thing, Kingy, you can trust us."

The Destructix were giving smug grins, which Elias met with a sigh.

"I do hope you _enjoy _your stay in our city..."

He turned to Melina then, and offered a kind smile.

"And I want you to know that the Freedom Fighters will do everything it takes to keep you safe."

She returned it, and nodded a little. Elias nodded as well, and turned away.

"Oh, and keep working on your aim; once you get it down, you'll be a force to be reckoned with."

Melina was silent for a moment, before blushing a little.

"Th-Thank you, your Majesty."

Elias chuckled, and continued towards the base.

"Alright, let's go another round! I'm gonna figure this out!" Melina exclaimed, facing Finitevus.

"Your enthusiasm is nice, but I've had enough getting blasted for one day." he stated, turning towards the base as well.

"Aww, but-"

"I'm done for the day."

She pouted as he walked away, and Sally put a hand on her shoulder.

"You did good today, you'll be even better tomorrow, I know it."

"Yeah, and I'm sure Finitevus thinks the same, right Doc?" Fiona called after him expectantly. He didn't respond of course.

"Why bother?"

They turned to see Scourge, sunglasses back in their place, with an unconscious but smiling Bean hanging from his hand, ad Sonic catching up behind him.

"You know Von Creepy, he's not one to openly show his emotions or whatever; Half the time I don't think he has any."

Knuckles grunted in agreement.

"He has emotions," Melina stated, "You just gotta get to know him better."

"You spent _one _day alone with him kid, you think you know him better than any of us?" Lightning asked.

"Well, when I almost passed out he helped upstairs didn't he? If he didn't care he wouldn't have helped me, right?"

"Well...in the past, he's usually only helped people so they'd be obliged to do something for him later..." Sonic replied.

"Well, he can't expect much from me. I mean, what can I do?"

"Um, let's see, super strong powers, bargaining chip for the Legion, should I continue?" Knuckles asked matter of factly.

Melina frowned, and stalked past him towards the base.

"Knux, you really need to get better with kids; I mean, if Lara-Su's comin', you gotta get your parenting skills down."

Knuckles and Julie-Su blushed madly.

"Wait, wait...you tellin me Red's girl is-?" Scourge asked.

"NO!" the two echidnas shouted.

"Not yet..." Sonic added smuggly.

"I-I'm going back to Angel Island! Call me if the Legion or the apocolypse comes!" Julie-Su stammered, opening a warp ring. Knuckles followed her while glaring at the two snickering hedgehogs, and the ring closed behind them.

"A'right, so...been a long day...I'm hittin' the hay. Oh, Predator, you know him, you take this thing." Scourge stated, tossing Bean to the blue hawk, before zipping towards the base.

The rest of the group weren't far behind, and headed for their respective homes, while the Destructix bunked in the HQ.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

It was late at night, and the Destructix were fast asleep in the base. Scourge was sprawled out on the couch, snoring loudly. Fiona was beside him, and stirred only once to throw a pillow over his face and muffle his snores. Simian was asleep on the floor, Predator was perched on a bookshelf, and Lightning was on a makeshift bed made from a pillow and sheets. Flying and Bean were sprawled out in awkward positions, snoring softly against the wall.

Finitevus was using a spare room of the base, and had come out for a glass of water. He glanced around at the team, and Bean mumbled as he turned over in his sleep.

"...I humbly accept the shiny spoon of destiny..."

Finitevus rolled his eyes as he filled a glass, but paused and looked around. Melina wasn't anywhere in the room...strange, she had been beside Bean earlier...

A flash from outside caught his attention, and he ventured out to investigate. Sitting beneath a tree was the lynx girl, blue chaos energy flickering and encasing her hands.

"You're up awfully late."

She jumped, the energy dying away, and she looked up at Finitevus in surprise.

"Um...I'd say the same to you, but you're usually up this late anyway..."

The echidna gave a partial snort as he knelt beside her.

"Do you think...I'll be able to control it? What if...I really am unstable...?" she mumbled.

Finitevus was silent for a moment, looking away, before looking back.

"All chaos energy is unstable if one isn't taught to control it. You only just started exhibiting outbursts; be thankful we found out _before_ the explosions started."

"Explosions?!"

"Chaos has many reactions."

"So...you think I can do it?"

"...It's looking like you will."

Melina smiled, before yawning.

"You should rest if you want to be able to train tomorrow."

She nodded tiredly, and got to her feet.

"How'd you get so good at this anyway?" she asked as she followed him inside.

"I've had a longer time to perfect my skills."

"Were you born with them like me?"

"...No, not exactly."

"So...what happened-?"

"It was a long time ago."

She fell silent, glancing at him curiously, but his guarded expression kept her from asking further. There was something there...buried under all of his current agitation and restraint...

A small trace of fear...

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

**_Oh, what's this? Finitevus and fear? In the same scene? What could this mean? Stay tuned to find out! R&R!_**


End file.
